Asda has launched a new petrol price comparison site powered by independent price checker www.PetrolPrices.com, to enable drivers across the UK to find the lowest-priced fuel before they fill up.

The supermarket aims to save Britain’s 38m drivers millions of pounds at the pumps each year by publishing the highest, lowest and average prices in every one of the 195 towns in which it operates a filling station.

It will also publish the price it charges for both unleaded and diesel to allow drivers to check and compare prices within a three mile radius of their local Asda forecourt.

Drivers simply log onto the Asda pricechecker website asda.com/prices and enter their postcode. The site will then locate the nearest Asda filling station to where they live and display the highest, lowest and average prices within a three-mile radius of that location.

Asda says it intends to expose the huge discrepancies charged by its rivals in towns where Asda doesn’t currently operate. On its website it claims that in Worcester, for example, where Asda doesn’t have a store or filling station, diesel costs as much as 148.9 pence per litre – 5p more than Asda charges at any of its filling stays across the UK.

It also quote research by the AA which it claims has previously shown that the presence of an Asda filling station in a town has a direct correlation to the average price per litre charged at the pumps by its rivals.

Andy Peake, Asda’s trading director for petrol said: “Customers tell us they want to be armed with all the facts before they fill up their cars so they know they’re not being taken for a ride.

“Our new comparison site will enable millions of drivers to see for themselves how much we charge and how that compares to all the other retailers where they live. We also intend to shine a headlight on the exorbitant prices other retailers are prepared to charge when Asda isn’t nearby. It’s time for them to come clean, or risk being given the cold, hard shoulder by drivers up and down the country.”

Peake said the need for drivers to be able to compare prices had never been greater, with the cost of fuel hitting record highs in recent weeks. According to Asda’s own Income Tracker, the cost of transport is now one of the largest downward factors on falling disposable income. The price of fuel in particular has grown by double digits over the past year, forcing families to fork out between £20-£30 extra each week to fill up their car.

The Asda website also reveals that a recent Asda Mumdex report found mums are working even harder to tighten the purse strings just to stay afloat. With lower wages and higher living costs, it is not just the big monthly payments like mortgages that are causing pressure – day-to-day living costs such as food, fuel and utility bills are becoming harder to pay.

In a survey of more than 1,700 Asda mums across the UK this weekend, Asda found over half (55 per cent) would like the Chancellor George Osborne to cut duty next week in order to lower the cost of filling up. The combined cost of duty and VAT equates to more than 80p of the current retail price of a litre of both unleaded and diesel.

Brendan McLoughlin, Co-Founder of PetrolPrices.com said: “We’re excited to power the new fuel price checker tool on www.Asda.com. It’s great to see a major supermarket actually showing customers the real facts about fuel prices in their local area. We are looking forward to developing this service and improving transparency about fuel pricing even further.”

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