The greener fuel has been introduced by the government to try to reduce vehicle emissions as part of its wider efforts to meet its decarbonisation targets. Most registered cars in the UK are not suitable for E10 fuel. The leader in this is the Volkswagen Golf (28.066) followed by the MG MGB (20.890), Mazda MX-5 (18,162), Nissan Micra (15,785), Morris Minor (12.796), Rover 25 (9.879), MG MGF (9352) and the Ford Escort (8947).

According to Petrol Retailers Association president Brian Madderson, the new figures show that the fuel crisis was an 'unintended consequence' of the E10 rollout. He told the Telegraph : “For weeks we were emptying our tanks of E5, the old fuel, as quickly as possible to get ready for E10. We had all used up our gas supplies. So when the panic buying started, many of our members ran out of supplies pretty quickly. Then the shortage of truck drivers meant that we couldn't get supplies fast enough.”

E10

The name E10 is a reference to the ethanol – or bioethanol – that is mixed into the fuel before it is sold at gas stations. It's 10 percent, compared to a 5 percent blend of E5 gasoline that has been supplied at gas stations for years. The higher the ethanol mix, the greener the fuel. This is because the bioethanol content is an alcohol-based product made by the fermentation of a range of plants, including sugar cane, cassava, and hemp. It makes any bioethanol mix partially 'atmospheric CO2 neutral' because the plants have absorbed more carbon dioxide during growth than is released.

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