New ADAC figures from the petrol stations on Germany’s motorways show that you should get off the road to fill up! Your wallet will be happy.
In the spring of this year, drivers had to pay an average of 39 cents more for a liter of Super E10 than at the nearest pump off the highway; drivers of diesel cars paid almost 38 cents more. The Automobile Club in Munich strongly criticized these price increases.
The ADAC conducted a random sample of prices at 40 motorway petrol stations along the 15 longest motorways and compared them with the nearest petrol station that was not directly on the motorway. The price differences were “still significant” – although the peak was slightly lower than in the previous year.
On the A2 motorway near Hamm, a liter of diesel cost 50 cents more on the motorway than off it. For E10, the difference was even more significant at 54 cents. Last year, customers even had to pay up to 70 cents more at the petrol station.
The ADAC therefore “strongly” recommends that drivers avoid the petrol stations on the motorways and either fill up beforehand or pull off the motorway for a short time. This can save them a lot of money: for a 50-litre tank, for example, it’s just under 20 euros, based on the price differences identified in the study.
An accompanying online survey of more than 2,000 people found that 82 percent of car travelers already do this. Of those who drive to the gas station on the highway, however, about two-thirds fill up the vehicle.
The ADAC took the sample in April and May 2024 and used data from the Market Transparency Unit for Fuels.
