The European Commission has launched a pilot project called "Fuel Price Comparison", and Croatia has joined it aiming to determine the best model to inform consumers about the prices of different fuels on the domestic market, the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Ministry said on Sunday.

Apart from Croatia, eight other EU member countries are participating in the project which was launched on January 15 and will last until February 1.

Throughout that period, consumers at ten chosen petrol stations in Croatia will be offered participation in a survey based on a comparison of prices of conventional and alternative fuels, including petrol and diesel fuels, as well as liquefied petroleum gas, compressed natural gas and electricity.

The comparison of fuel prices will be shown on leaflets, banners and digital displays.

The survey will include randomly chosen consumers and reveal their preferences regarding the optimal form of price comparison.

Under EU rules, as of June 2020, consumers must have access to information on the average prices of different types of fuel.

An important factor of choice when purchasing a new vehicle is the type of fuel and its price. Considering conventional and alternative fuels, on offer, apart from diesel and petrol engines, are also electric, hybrid and other engines.

As of June 2020, consumers will obtain information at petrol stations about the average prices of fuels per 100 kilometres driven. 

As part of the project, a method has been developed to calculate the prices of different types of fuel per 100 kilometres driven.

The average prices of fuel in Croatia in the last quarter of 2019 were HRK 9.96 for petrol, HRK 10.03 for diesel fuels, HRK 4.58 for liquefied petroleum gas, HRK 9 for compressed natural gas and HRK 0.78 for electricity.