Expensive fuel
Tank tourism is booming: low fuel prices attract Germans to Austria and the Czech Republic
© epa apa Franz Neumay / Picture Alliance
While fuel prices reach peak values in Germany, they are significantly cheaper in other countries. For citizens in regions bordering Austria and the Czech Republic, this is a reason to fill up the car with the neighbors.
Gas prices have been rising in Germany for months. Diesel has currently reached its peak and premium gasoline is also approaching its all-time high. The reason is the rising oil price. It has roughly doubled within a year and reached multi-year highs on Monday. The Brent variety, which is important for Europe, was valued at around 86 dollars per barrel (159 liters).
There is another reason why fuel prices have risen so sharply in Germany. A large part of the price of fuel is made up of taxes and duties. The energy or mineral oil tax amounts to 65.45 cents per liter for premium petrol and 47.07 cents for diesel. Added to this is the value added tax – at the current price level this is just under 27 cents for the Super E10 and around 25 cents for diesel. The CO2 price that has been incurred since the beginning of the year creates additional costs. Depending on how high the proportion of biofuel is, that is – still without VAT – a good 5 cents for Super E10 and a good 6 cents for diesel.
Queues at foreign gas stations
In the border regions to the Czech Republic and Austria, this is boosting fuel tourism. Florian Hördegen from ADAC Südbayern told the German press agency that the willingness to take detours or take a trip on your own for a few euros in savings has increased. The topic has gained momentum again since last week. Across the border you can sometimes see queues at the gas stations. Bavarian petrol station operators, on the other hand, assert that this phenomenon is not new. In view of the inflation, however, people were more open about the issue.
In Austria and the Czech Republic, taxes on fuels are lower than in Germany. Depending on the petrol station, region and time of day, the differences for diesel are around 20 cents and for premium petrol around 25 cents. Depending on the filling quantity, consumers can save up to ten euros or even more. However, the drive across the border must also be worthwhile. “Driving across the border just to refuel is particularly worthwhile if the price differences are high and the distances are very short. Because you also have to consider the time and wear and tear of the car,” said ADAC fuel price expert Jürgen Albrecht of the dpa. For peers, however, it pays off even with small differences.
Petrol is significantly more expensive in the Netherlands
The Central Association of the Petrol Station Industry (ZTG), on the other hand, speaks of a “petrol price paradox”, because the differences at the borders actually remain relatively similar even with higher fuel prices. According to the ZTG, the fact that more people are taking on the longer journeys is due to the fact that people are becoming more price-sensitive. This can also be observed domestically between cheap and expensive gas stations.
And: There are not significant price differences at all German borders. In addition, these can vary depending on the region, petrol station and time. According to data from the traffic clubs ADAC and AvD, fuel is clearly cheaper in Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Luxembourg. In contrast, fuel is significantly more expensive in the Netherlands than in Germany. However, according to the ZTG, there is currently no evidence of increasing fuel tourism from there.