ADAC Analysis: Filling Up at the Motorway Costs 33 Cents More per Liter on Average

It is followed by Bavaria with 40 cents for E10 and 39 cents for diesel, as well as Baden-Württemberg with 40 and 37 cents. For Super E10, the difference between the most expensive motorway stations and the average of roadside fuel stations was up to 44 cents. The cheapest motorway fuel station even charged a few cents less than the nationwide average of "roadside fuel stations." According to the ADAC, however, this is a special case.

The price gaps are well below average in Brandenburg with 17 cents each, as well as in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania with 17 cents for E10 and 16 cents for diesel. In Saxony-Anhalt, the difference was 23 cents each for both fuel types.

Data Basis and Methodology

Saxony, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Schleswig-Holstein are close together. There, the gaps for E10 are between 33 and 36 cents, and for diesel between 31 and 37 cents. In Saarland, it is 25 cents for E10 and 24 cents for diesel. Hesse, with 28 and 29 cents, already has clearly below-average gaps.

The prices evaluated were those in the period from April 6 to 19 – that is, without the fuel discount, but already with the 12 o'clock rule. The study period was indeed marked by strong turbulence in fuel prices. However, this does not change the fundamental result, according to the ADAC. There is no data for Berlin and Bremen.

For the first time, there are now figures for all 360 motorway fuel stations and the around 14,000 fuel stations in Germany. The ADAC has compared prices at motorway fuel stations and normal roadside fuel stations many times before, but previously only with smaller samples.

What Drivers Say

As the traffic club announced, stronger competition off the motorways leads to lower prices. Operating costs at motorway fuel stations are higher than off the motorways – yet the price markups are often significantly too high. The ADAC also stresses the convenience of many drivers. Especially on longer trips, there is a higher willingness to pay.

In a current ADAC survey of more than 1,500 drivers who use the motorway, however, just under a quarter of those surveyed said that regardless of the price differences, they would not leave the motorway to refuel. 63 percent said they would do so; the vast majority of them already at price differences of up to 20 cents. Summer time is travel time – more and more federal states are starting their major holidays. Heavy traffic and congestion are therefore expected again on many motorways.