Motorists with diesel vehicles are being 'taken for a ride' by retailers who are charging too much, the RAC has said.
The motorists' organisation said that even though the wholesale price of diesel has gone down over the last month, the price at the pump has risen.
The RAC is now calling for a price cut on diesel of 4 pence a litre.
However petrol retailers said the RAC was wrong - and that profit margins on diesel sales were mostly tiny.
Over the last month, the gap between wholesale petrol and diesel prices - in other words what the retailers pay - has narrowed to 0.97p.
Yet motorists are still paying 6p a litre more for diesel than they are for petrol, according to the RAC.
The RAC said that companies - which tend to rely more on diesel vehicles - were being charged too much.
"It's hard not to think that business is being taken for a ride by the fuel retailers," said Simon Williams, the RAC's fuel spokesman.
"Retailers have maintained a higher margin on diesel, perhaps to subsidise petrol sales," he said.
But the industry said that the RAC had misunderstood how profits are made.
"We are extremely disappointed that the RAC made a number of assumptions that are palpably erroneous," said Brian Madderson, chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association, which represents independent forecourts.
and so are individuals.
Profits are made by setting the price and rip people off, I'm sure even the RAC understand how it happens...... Do oil and petrol companies think we were born yesterday?
The motorists' organisation said that even though the wholesale price of diesel has gone down over the last month, the price at the pump has risen.
The RAC is now calling for a price cut on diesel of 4 pence a litre.
However petrol retailers said the RAC was wrong - and that profit margins on diesel sales were mostly tiny.
Over the last month, the gap between wholesale petrol and diesel prices - in other words what the retailers pay - has narrowed to 0.97p.
Yet motorists are still paying 6p a litre more for diesel than they are for petrol, according to the RAC.
The RAC said that companies - which tend to rely more on diesel vehicles - were being charged too much.
"It's hard not to think that business is being taken for a ride by the fuel retailers," said Simon Williams, the RAC's fuel spokesman.
"Retailers have maintained a higher margin on diesel, perhaps to subsidise petrol sales," he said.
But the industry said that the RAC had misunderstood how profits are made.
"We are extremely disappointed that the RAC made a number of assumptions that are palpably erroneous," said Brian Madderson, chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association, which represents independent forecourts.
and so are individuals.
But the industry said that the RAC had misunderstood how profits are made.
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