IT CAN now cost an eye-watering £100 to fill up a family car. At the time of writing (the beginning of July) the average price of a litre of petrol is £1.91 and diesel averages £1.99 per litre. By comparison, the highest average prices last year were just over £1.47 for petrol and just under £1.51 for diesel.
Moreover, the average annual cost of insuring the 10 most popular cars in the UK has risen by £100 in the past 12 months, to £675, according to price comparison website Compare the Market.
For anyone wanting to buy a new car, there are shortages of many models, leading to long waiting lists. The industry says reasons include problems in the supply chain, as many components are manufactured in Ukraine, and indeed Russia. A global shortage of semiconductor microchips which control everything from electric windows to navigation systems in new cars has also hit production.
To make matters worse, this lack of new cars has inevitably pushed up the price of used vehicles. Since the start of 2021 used car prices have risen on magazine, bringing the average cost of a second-hand motor to £17,385.
