Sales of super unleaded have remained largely stable despite pump prices rising significantly in recent months – though super diesel volumes have declined by a quarter.
Over April and May 2026 super unleaded volumes fell by just 5.29% compared to the same period last year, while standard-grade unleaded volumes rose 2.4%.
Super diesel has been far more impacted, with volumes dropping 25.39%, while standard-grade diesel volumes rose 2.2%.
Analysis from fuel-pricing specialist Edge Petrol reveals the scale of the shift, with the average forecourt signed up to its services selling 31,014 litres of super unleaded across April and May 2026, down from 32,748 litres last year.
Average per-forecourt super diesel volmes dropped from 22,127 litres from the same two months in 2025, to just 16,509 litres this year.
The sharp drop in super diesel sales is undoubtedly linked to rises in diesel prices as a whole. A litre of standard-grade diesel sold for an average of 141.7p in April 2025 according to the Office of National Statistics, rising to 190p in 2026, up 34.1%. Unleaded rose from 134.5p to 156.8p over the same period, a 16.6% increase.
Super unleaded’s relative resilience is also likely to be linked to the 700,000 older and classic cars that cannot run on standard E10 petrol, so named because it contains up to 10% ethanol, a biofuel that can cause fuel lines to degrade. Super unleaded, meanwhile, contains no more than 5% ethanol, so is friendlier to older fuel lines, which are often made from rubber that high levels of ethanol can cause to perish and crack.
Similarly, some performance cars run poorly on standard unleaded, with the net result being that a significant cohort of drivers have little choice but to stick with super unleaded, regardless of price. Super diesel sales, by contrast, are more often led by preference than necessity.
Edge Petrol’s data shows that falling fuel volumes are driven both by fewer overall transactions, and smaller fill-up sizes. Motorists bought an average of 27.5 litres each time they drew super diesel in April/May ’25, with this dropping to 24.3 litres in 2026. Super unleaded volumes were less affected here too, with the average transaction only dropping from 20.7 to 20.3 litres over the same period.
Karl Evans, Edge Petrol’s chief operating officer, says his firm’s data indicates there has been a “distinct shift in consumer behaviour at the pump”.
He adds: “As record-high wholesale prices push the cost of a single premium fill-up to unprecedented levels, even affluent drivers are responding by actively managing their budgets through short-filling their tanks or trading down to standard grades.”
