Fuel Prices - Are Costs Rising Immeasurably?

The fuel gauge drops and the orange warning light comes on - you are only driving on reserve. Especially on the motorway, this is a painful sight, especially when you realise that the cost of fuel has once again risen exorbitantly. But it's not only on the motorway that prices keep going up, but also in towns and cities, or are we imagining it?

Price comparison with previous years

When you drive to work in the morning, fuel is usually much more expensive than on the way home later in the evening. Nevertheless, you usually have the feeling that fuel prices continue to rise every year. We can reassure you that this is not the case. According to an evaluation by the ADAC, 2012 was the most expensive year for petrol so far. Drivers had to pay almost EUR 1.60 for a litre of Super E10 and about EUR 1.48 for a litre of diesel on an annual average. By 2016, the annual average price for Super E10 had dropped again to EUR 1.28 and for diesel to EUR 1.08. Since then, prices have been rising again. Compared to 2018, 2019 has been around 2 cents cheaper on average, whether diesel or Super E10. Accordingly, prices do not rise constantly, but vary and depend on many factors. For example, global political events, natural disasters and, of course, taxes.

Filling up at motorways

Prices are particularly high at motorway filling stations. Here, the average price is about 20 cents per litre more than a few hundred metres off the motorway. According to the ADAC, the average price per litre is as follows: Super E10 is 21.4 cents and diesel 23.8 cents more expensive than in town. The peak of the differences for Super was up to 48 cents. If you notice on the motorway that you will soon have to fill up, it is worthwhile to switch to inner-city petrol stations.

A clever move: only fill up a few litres at motorway petrol stations to get to the next town, so that you can fill up your tank completely there for less. These differences are probably in the hands of the company "Tank & Rast", which owns most of the petrol stations on the motorways. Even in the past, the potential of the motorway and the empty tank as a good and safe source of money was recognised and also used. Now the company auctions off its concessions to the highest bidder. Of course, they then try to recoup the costs and raise the prices accordingly.

So that you don't lose a small fortune on your next holiday or trip to visit your relatives, it is best to find out where there are well-located petrol stations before you set off and fill up your tank completely at home.

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