More than two-fifths of UK drivers have spent less than £10 on petrol during the last month, with a third purchasing no petrol whatsoever.

More than two-fifths of UK drivers have spent less than £10 on petrol during the last month, with a third purchasing no petrol whatsoever

The research comes from online car buying platform Carwow, which analysed the petrol-buying habits of Britons, both pre and post-lockdown.

Comparing this to before lockdown began, 30% of drivers revealed petrol was costing them more than £30 a month, with 1 in 10 spending between £51-£60. Furthermore, 7% were spending more than £101 in a month prior to lockdown, compared to just 1% since travel restrictions were put in place.

The research also reinforced ongoing indications that drivers are likely to switch to alternatively fuelled vehicle following national media reports on how drastically CO2 emissions have been lowered since the start of lockdown.

A total of 25% of those surveyed by Carwow said the coverage had led them to consider an AFV, with a further 15% revealing they were already planning on switching to an AFV before lockdown.

Looking into data regionally, London motorists (34%) were the most likely to be considering the switch to an AFV, followed by Sheffield (33%) and Liverpool (30%).

The coronavirus lockdown effects on commuting have also been revealed in a new report by GoCompare, with UK drivers having saved £267m on fuel during lockdown while also gaining a big time-saving from working from home.

On average, Brits spend 58 minutes a day commuting for work by car, covering 3.4 miles each way. Over the course of a year that adds up to over 200 hours, or around 8.5 days a year spent travelling to and from work. Up to 12 May 2020, employees who have been able to work from home had saved 34 working days, giving a time-saving of 30 hours and 36 minutes.