Most Aussie car owners have no idea what they spend on fuel

The majority of Australian car owners don’t want to know how much they spend on refuelling their vehicle, according to new research conducted by carsales via its insights community.

The November 2021 report, which attracted 768 participants nationally, shows 57 per cent of those surveyed didn’t want to know what they spent on fuel, while 59 per cent said they kept no fuel records.

“A recent Bill Shock survey by comparethemarket.com.au indicated the average cost of petrol for an Australian passenger vehicle owner is $117 per month, or $1404 per year, so that is a sizable chunk out of the monthly budget for most Australians,” said carsales GM of Customer Advocacy and Research, Deborah Heaphy.

“What’s fascinating is that not only did more than half of our participants not keep any record of fuel spend, but almost as many didn’t even want to know.”

Of those that did keep records, 19 per cent indicated they keep fuel receipts, while 10 per cent now use digital logbooks or apps to track fuel usage and costs.

In a world increasingly dominated by climate change announcements, carbon emissions reduction schemes and car manufacturers’ endless pursuit of improved efficiency and focus on EVs, the fact that only 25 per cent of consumers indicated fuel efficiency was ‘very important’ in their choice of car was also surprising.

“We had expected this percentage to be higher, given the current economic and political focus on climate,” said Heaphy.

A further 27 per cent considered fuel efficiency ‘important’, with the same percentage neutral on the topic.

Forty four per cent of respondent said they filled their cars fortnightly – the highest response rate and a rise of eight percentage points over a similar survey conducted in 2018.

Of note is the reduction in ‘weekly’, from 40 per cent in 2018 to 24 per cent in November 2021.

‘Monthly’ also experienced a rise, more than doubling from nine per cent to 19 per cent.

“COVID-related travel restrictions, with some states limiting travel to only five kilometres from home during the pandemic’s height, are a logical reason for these shifts,” said Heaphy.

“The need to commute was much reduced through this time, and outside of work hours, people remained confined to their locale.”

The obvious ‘My tank is almost empty’ was the runaway refuelling trigger, with 58 per cent of respondents listing this as their number one reason.

Given the recent fuel pricing trends, the 31 per cent that gave 'low price' as their primary trigger was also unsurprising.

At the opposite end, ‘stopping for convenience items’ was chosen as the least likely reason to refuel, with 53 per cent stating this.

When asked to rank key outlets on fuel quality, 41 per cent gave BP the nod as their first preference.

Shell including Shell Coles Express was ostensibly second with 23 per cent of the ‘first preference’ vote, though combining the departing Caltex (13 per cent) as it transitions to the Ampol (11 per cent) umbrella puts them slightly ahead.

Nine per cent offered ‘no regular station’ preference.

“Of note is that 65 per cent of people without a brand preference will scout their locale for the best price, but only around 27 per cent choose primarily on location,” said Heaphy.

Over one-third (35 per cent) of respondents indicated it would be ‘very likely’ they’d switch based on price alone.

Conversely, 19 per cent said it would be ‘very unlikely’, revealing that brand loyalty still has strength in the petroleum industry.