The rise in fuel prices is among the issues that are constantly on the agenda of both the media and citizens.
Despite the increases, however, citizens still visit petrol stations, since ensuring the mobility of their vehicles is their basic daily need.
However, in discussions held at various wells, the tendency is recorded that they do not "fill" the tanks of their vehicles, but prefer to pay 20 - 30 euros at a time. At the same time, those who attempt are often surprised when they hear the final bill.
"Last time"
This was also the reaction of Giorgos Aristotelous, owner of a Nissan Qashqai, when the cashier announced to him at a gas station in Strovolos that he had to pay 103 euros.
"But did it come out that much?" asked the visibly surprised young man, with the cashier asking him "Yes, how much did you tell him to put in?". "I told him to fill it up, but I didn't calculate how much it would come out," replies Mr. Aristotelous, trying to do some rough calculations.
At that time, another customer who was waiting in line to pay enters the conversation.
"My friend," he says addressing Mr. Aristotelous, "I had exactly the same car and it was filled with 75-80 euros a few months ago. But as with the prices now, I'm now risking filling it up."
The young man, nodding in agreement, reluctantly pays the amount at the till, confirming to the other customer that he indeed needed around 80 euros to fill up his Nissan Qashqai last time.
Realizing that the increase now exceeds 30%, the young man exclaims that "this is the last time" he fills it up and leaves in a hurry.
How much does it take to fill 4 popular car brands?
The Economy Today puts four of the most popular car brands on the island's roads under the microscope, trying to record how much it will cost their owner to fill up the fuel tank.
For the needs of the exercise, we used Toyota, Mercedes, Mazda and Nissan vehicles which, according to the data of the Statistical Service, are the favorite brands of Cypriots. At the same time, we identified the prices recorded today by the Retail Fuel Price Observatory of the Consumer Protection Service, in Nicosia for unleaded 95 petrol. 
As can be seen in the table, the average price is 1,599 cents per litre, the cheapest is found at 1,555 cents per litre, while the most expensive is 1,679 cents per litre.
Starting with the Nissan Qashqai, also guilty of the above incident, to fill its tank, with a capacity of 65 liters, at a gas station in Strovolos will require an average of approximately 101.33 euros. In the best case, it can be filled with 101.07 euros, while if the consumer stops at the gas station with the highest current price, he will pay almost 110 euros.
At the same time, if a 2014 Mazda Demio owner, with a fuel capacity of 44 liters, chooses to fill up his tank, his bill will range from 68 – 74 euros. At the same time, for a Toyota Yaris ZR, with a capacity of 42 liters, 65-70 euros are needed.
In the case of Mercedes-style vehicles, which are filled with 98 octane unleaded, the prices are even higher. According to the Retail Fuel Price Observatory, the average price is 1,664 cents per liter, while the cheapest and most expensive are 1,579 and 1,749 respectively. This means that to fill up a Mercedes Benz C-Class, with a capacity of 66 liters, the cost will range from 104 to 115 euros.
Increases of up to and over 20% in one quarter
In comparison, and based on the fuel prices in force in June 2023 (before the removal of the subsidy), when the average price of unleaded petrol 95 was at €1.38 a litre, the vehicles in question would need to fill up:
Nissan Qashqai: €89.70
Mazda Demio: €60.72
Toyota Yaris: €57.96
Mercedes Benz C-Class: €95.40
For vehicles with unleaded petrol 98, the average price during the same period was €1.45 per litre.
Therefore, based on the analyzed data, the increases today, compared to June 2023, range from 13% to 21%.
With fuel price hikes not yet appearing to have hit their ceiling, Economy Today will attempt to repeat the exercise next time, in the hope that if subsidies are reinstated, the numbers will vary downwards.
Source: EconomyToday