Fuel prices are climbing again: here’s what it means for your company vans
Rising fuel prices have pushed diesel up 14.2p a litre. Discover what this means for your van fleet, plus free tools to help cut fuel costs today.
If it feels like it costs more to fill up with fuel than it did a few weeks ago, you’re not imagining it. New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show fuel is once again pushing up the cost of running a business.
In the year to August 2026, UK inflation rose to 3.1% – the highest in five months – and the biggest single reason was fuel price. Fuel prices were up 23% compared with the same time last year. Petrol jumped 9.1 pence a litre in a single month, taking it to 161.3 pence a litre, the most expensive it’s been since November 2022.
For anyone running company vans, though, the number that stings most is diesel: now up 14.2 pence a litre to 181.8 pence, according to the ONS. That’s a faster rise than petrol, and it lands squarely on businesses that need to somehow absorb it.
A few pence per litre adds up fast
A 14-pence rise doesn’t sound like much on one tank. But across a handful of vans doing full days, week in and week out, that adds up quickly and comes straight off your bottom line. Most trades businesses can’t simply pass the cost on to their customers.
And the forecasts don’t offer much comfort. The Bank of England expects inflation to stay around 3.2% for the rest of 2026, and Capital Economics forecasts it could peak at around 4.2% in January 2027 (see the ONS bulletin for the next release due in October 2026).
As the cost of fuel rises, you can only control how much fuel your vans use to get the job done and that starts with knowing what you’re really paying for and where that fuel is going.
Three free tools to help you
To help you navigate rising fuel costs smartly, Quartix now offers a set of free tools that anyone can use without needing to sign-up – just use them online whenever you need them:
Fuel costs map. See how prices vary around your area and where the cheaper forecourts are, so you and your team aren’t filling up at the most expensive pumps out of habit.
Mileage calculator. Work out the real fuel cost of a journey before you quote for work – handy when prices are moving this fast and yesterday’s figures don’t stack up.
Route planner. Plan the most sensible way to string jobs together, so you’re not doubling back and burning fuel on miles unnecessarily.
Used together, these give you a clear picture of what fuel is costing your business with today’s costs, and often that’s enough to spot a few easy wins.
Check fuel prices near me → Fuel Costs Map
Work out a journey’s fuel cost → Mileage Calculator
Plan a smarter route → Route Planner
What rising diesel costs mean for a small fleet
Say you run four vans, each covering 15,000 miles a year. At around 35 mpg, that’s roughly 7,800 litres of diesel between them. At today’s 181.8 pence a litre, that’s about £14,200 a year on fuel alone and with fuel around 23% dearer than a year ago, roughly £2,600 of that is extra cost you didn’t have twelve months ago. Trim your fuel use by even 10% and that’s about £1,400 back into the business.
Figures are indicative, based on 35 mpg and current ONS diesel prices.
Want a figure for your own fleet? Our mileage calculator works out the cost of a single journey, and our ROI calculator estimates what you could save across all your vans over a year.
Seeing where the fuel really goes
To see the full picture of every van, every journey, day after day, you need vehicle tracking installed in your vans. Our vehicle tracking system helps you cut the wasted trips that are quietly costing you money. When fuel is this expensive, every litre you save counts.
Here are some of the ways our customers drive down their fuel spend:
Driver scores. Harsh acceleration, heavy braking and constant speeding all burn noticeably more fuel. Quartix shows you how each van is being driven, so you can spot where habits are draining the budget.
Trip reports. A clear record of every journey means you can see the routes being taken, catch unnecessary mileage, and spot engine idling – a van sitting with its engine running is burning money and going nowhere. Our tracking data shows that the average commercial vehicle idles for around 6-7 minutes every day. If your vehicles have high idling times, the cost mounts up faster than you might expect. Cutting 10 minutes of idling per van per day across a 50-van fleet saves around £2,900 a year. Our guide to the true costs of engine idling breaks down the numbers.
Watching how fuel spend adds up. Our FleetCheck fuel card integration lets you check what you’re spending against the miles your vans have really covered, so anything that looks off gets noticed.
Real results from our customers
Ginsters saved up to 20% on its fuel costs using Quartix, while road-marking firm WJ improved its fleet MPG by 12% and saved £160,000 through driving style improvements. The percentages scale whether you run four vans or forty. You can read more of these stories on our case studies page.
Work out your fleet’s potential savings with our ROI Calculator.
Why businesses choose Quartix
We’ve been supporting businesses with clear, straightforward van tracking for the last 25 years, and Quartix is rated 4.8 on Trustpilot. Our tracking comes on short contracts that roll to monthly after the first year, and it never auto-renews.
Let us help you see exactly where your fuel is going and start saving.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. ONS figures show fuel prices rose 23% in the year to August 2026, and the Bank of England expects inflation to stay around 3.2% for the rest of the year.
Both have risen, but diesel has climbed faster – up 14.2 pence in a single month to 181.8 pence a litre, against petrol’s 161.3 pence.
More than most business owners expect, and it’s easy to miss without tracking data. Cutting 10 minutes of idling per van per day across a 50-van fleet can save around £2,900 a year in fuel. Our guide to engine idling costs has the full breakdown.
Start with our fuel costs map, mileage calculator and route planner. For ongoing savings, our vehicle tracking system shows you driving habits, wasted mileage and idling across every vehicle in your fleet. Check out our ROI calculator to understand what that could be worth to you.
*Fuel figures: Office for National Statistics, Consumer Prices Index, August 2026 (published 16 September 2026).
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