Fuel Cost Calculator: Calculate Petrol Cost Per Km

The fuel cost affects almost every aspect of our life. An increase in the cost can lead to an overall increase in the price of goods and services. It can also increase our cost of moving around and commuting, thus, messing with our budget.

If you struggle with tracking your fuel expenses, a fuel cost calculator can help you. It is a tool that can calculate the fuel cost depending on the distance to be travelled, mileage of your car and the per-unit cost of fuel, both petrol and diesel. Using a calculator for fuel costs can help you anticipate the expenses on fuel and take necessary action to keep your budget on track.

The formula for fuel cost calculation

A fuel cost calculator help calculate estimated costs based on certain inputs, including,

1. Trip Distance (in km)
2. Fuel Efficiency (in km/litre)
3. Fuel Price (in Rs/litre)

Once you have all this data, you can input them into the fuel cost calculator. Here is the formula:

Fuel cost=(Trip Distance/mileage)X per unit price of Fuel

How to estimate fuel costs?

Jupiter’s fuel cost calculator can help you estimate your annual expense on fuel in advance. For this, you will need to provide the following inputs to the calculator:

1. Your monthly income
2. Your Daily movement in car
3. Fuel Price
4. Mileage of your vehicle

To get the right output from the Petrol cost calculator, you should know the accurate mileage of your vehicle. Suppose you do not know the mileage of your vehicle. In that case, you can calculate it by using the trip metre after filling the tank to full capacity and measuring the distance run at the next refill and the formula of the Fuel Mileage Calculator.

For example, Ramesh fills his Honda City car with a tank capacity of 45 litres in full and sets the trip metre to 0. One week later, he asks the pump operator to fill his tank again and realises that the tank will take 30 litres of petrol. The trip metre shows a reading of 510 km, which means the car has run a distance of 510 km in one week and consumed 30 litres of petrol. Thus, the mileage of the car is 510/30 = 17 km/l.

So, if Ramesh has to plan his next trip of 340 Km and the cost of the petrol is Rs. 120/litre, he can estimate the cost using the fuel cost calculator as (340/17) *120= 2400 INR, so he will keep aside a provision of Rs.2400 for the cost of fuel during the trip.

Factors driving fuel prices

Petrol and diesel are the products of crude oil. So, the price of fuel will depend on the price of crude oil that is decided internationally. Some factors that may impact petrol and diesel price include

1. Supply and demand: The supply of petrol depends on a handful of oil-producing countries in the Middle East and other countries like Russia, Brazil, and Venezuela. These countries control the price by limiting supply through a cartel.
2. Any geopolitical tension amongst these countries, like the current Russia-Ukraine war, pulls the price of the crude up; thus, the price of petrol and diesel also rises.
3. Price charged to dealers: The price charged by the Oil Marketing Companies to their dealers is an important determinant of the oil prices.
4. Commission structure: Commission paid by the Oil Marketing Companies to the dealers determines the price at which the petrol or diesel is available to the end consumer.
5. Central Excise duty:  Excise duty levied by the central government on petrol and diesel form a significant part of their price.
6. Taxes: Additional taxes are levied by state governments that add to the fuel price.
7. Demand for Fuel: A higher demand for fuel in comparison to supply will push the prices up. With an increase in the number of vehicles these days, the demand is at an all-time high.
8. Consumption ratio of refineries:  If the number of refineries is less, or they are operating at less efficiency, they will not be able to fulfil the demand and push the prices.
9. US-INR rate: Since India has to pay its oil import bill in US dollars, an increase in the price of USD vis-à-vis INR will make the oil costly and vice versa.

GST and Fuel Prices

In India, the prices of petrol and diesel do not come under the ambit of GST. The central and state governments impose excise duty and value-added tax on petrol and diesel prices. In fact, if petrol and diesel are brought under the ambit of GST, they will become cheaper for the consumers than the current levels, even if they are placed in the highest slab of the GST, i.e., 28%. There has been demand from certain sections to bring petrol and diesel under GST, but that would mean a loss of a big chunk of revenue, both for central and state governments.

Fuel Prices in various Indian Cities

Since the taxes and charges levied by different state governments on petrol and diesel prices are different, the prices of petrol and diesel vary widely across the states. Here is a table comparing fuel prices across the major cities in India.

5 effective ways of achieving fuel economy

Fuel is a limited resource. Since it has a high cost, you should do your best to save fuel wherever possible. Here are some things you can do to save fuel:

1. Drive Efficiently: Good driving practices go a long way in saving fuel. Regularly check the tire pressures in all the tires, switch off the engine when you are waiting at the signal and follow the speed limits, as unnecessary speeding will result in high fuel consumption.
2. Pay online and use rewards programs: Some credit card companies offer cashback and discounts on purchasing fuel. Understand and utilise this facility from your banking service provider
3. Keep your vehicle light: An Increase in weight can lead to low fuel efficiency for the car. So, avoid piling up unnecessary items in your vehicle and ease its load for maximum fuel efficiency.
4. Do carpool: Carpooling while going to the office or sending your kids to school can be an efficient way to save fuel.
5. Timely Servicing and maintenance of the vehicle go a long way in keeping the mileage of the vehicle optimum, thus saving fuel.

FAQs

1. How do I use the fuel cost calculator?

To calculate your annual cost of fuel, you need to know the following:

• The distance you travel daily in your car.
• The mileage of your vehicle.
• The cost of Diesel/Petrol per litre.
• Your Monthly income.

The fuel cost calculator will calculate your annual fuel cost or fuel cost per trip based on these inputs.

2.  What will my trip cost?

To calculate the cost of your trip, you need to input the trip distance, mileage of your car and the cost of fuel in the fuel calculator. The calculator will then give you the expected fuel cost of your trip.

3.  How do I calculate the distance that I can cover for a certain price?

To calculate the distance that you can cover on a particular trip, you will need to enter the targeted expense amount and the mileage of the car. Once you enter these details, the fuel calculator will tell you how many kilometres you can travel on a particular trip.

4.  How much fuel (Petrol/Diesel) will I need for a particular trip?

To estimate this, you will need to input the total distance of the trip that you expect and the mileage of the vehicle into the fuel consumption calculator. This will give you the amount of fuel required to complete the trip.