Fleet purchasing of supermarket petrol and diesel has fallen by around 15% on last year, FleetCheck is reporting using data from across its user base.

The fleet management software specialist says that the trend has emerged following widespread accusations that supermarkets have profiteered on fuel following the Ukraine war, with the government discussing making the publication of live fuel prices compulsory in response to the controversy.

Peter Golding, managing director, said: “There has been much discussion about the pricing of supermarket fuel over the last year or more, with the RAC reporting as recently as last month that their margins had doubled and they were failing to pass on reductions in wholesale prices at the pumps.

“Fleets are clearly cognisant of these developments and they appear to have had a direct impact on fuel purchasing among our users. A 15% change such as this over the course of a year is a pretty significant shift and shows that businesses are skewing their petrol and diesel purchasing towards other sources.

“We wouldn’t claim that this is entirely representative of something that is happening across the entire industry but from the fuel data we hold, there is clearly a trend underway.”

FleetCheck’s data is based on almost 430,000 transactions through its software during 2022 and 2023.

Peter added: “The ability to track fuel spending using data from fuel cards is one of the most important uses of fleet management software and many of our users regularly examine the outlets that their drivers use and steer them towards cheaper options.

“Since fuel prices began to rise sharply at the start of the Ukraine war, we have seen a more proactive approach as fleets have attempted to use our reporting to minimise the impact of those cost increases. It very much appears as though the move away from supermarkets is a direct result of these strategies.”