Rising fuel prices could start to have an impact on the used car sales market, with the price of diesel fuel increasingly affecting the cars it powers.
According to new research from Experian, the average price of diesel fuel at the end of June reached 132.27p per litre.
This is an increase of 22.5 per cent from the beginning of the year and shows the largest increase in diesel fuel prices for the first half of any year in the last decade.
Kirk Fletcher, managing director of Experian’s automotive division, said that sales are yet to be affected.
He said that sales of used diesel models are strong, but "it will be interesting" to see how buyers react in the face of increasing fuel costs.
"If diesel fuel prices continue to rise at this rate, we may see a slow down in the sale of diesel cars and a bigger shift over to cars that are running on alternative fuel," he claimed.
Meanwhile, several groups have called on the government to act on the rising fuel prices.
Groups including the AA and the Petrol Retailers Association have urged Gordon Brown to scrap the 2p per litre fuel duty increase planned for 2009 and 2010.
They believe the government has not understood the serious impact that rising oil prices are having on the UK and claimed that fuel prices are affecting the daily life of the population.
As fuel prices continued to bite consumers, Mr Fletcher believes that the rapid increase in the sale of hybrid cars could continue.
