Households buy 10 liters less of fuel a month as gasoline prices hit historic highs

Historically high gasoline prices are altering people's behavior at the pump. According to the FD, motorists are buying less fuel and are switching to cheaper stations more often, especially those across the border. Since the start of the Iran war, households have been putting an average of about ten liters less fuel each month.

ABN Amro estimates that this represents a 12 percent drop compared with the same period last year. The bank bases its figures on debit card transactions at filling stations by roughly 240,000 households that own a car. In the meantime, the recommended retail price for gasoline rose by 1.5 cents to a record 2.727 euros on Friday

According to the FD, high fuel prices have changed the behavior of both private motorists and company-car drivers, the bank’s data show. The figures already take into account drivers in border regions who more frequently full up abroad due to lower prices.

ING also reported that less fuel is being purchased. According to the bank, the volume of liters sold through September 10 was about five percent lower than a year earlier.

From March through August, the overall road congestion remained virtually unchanged from the previous year. Weekday daytime traffic jams fell by seven percent, possibly due to the Dutch making fewer recreational trips. It also does not appear that the Dutch have massively switched to electric driving, even though sales of used electric cars rose sharply immediately after the war broke out.