ADAC study: Refuelling off the motorway saves up to 43 cents per litre in Germany

The nationwide picture

Motorists in Germany pay a steep premium for the convenience of refuelling directly on the autobahn. A new ADAC study covering every motorway service station in the country found that both Super E10 and diesel cost an average of 33 cents per litre more than at regular street-side stations. For a typical 50-litre tank, that adds up to €16.50 in extra costs.

The survey shows very clearly that it is worth leaving the motorway to refuel and heading for a nearby station.

The most expensive motorway stations charged up to 47 cents more for diesel and 44 cents more for E10 than the off-motorway average. One outlier station actually undercut the national street average by a few cents, but the ADAC described it as a special case.

Regional disparities

The price gap varies sharply across Germany's federal states. Rheinland-Pfalz recorded the largest difference, with motorway E10 costing 42 cents more and diesel 43 cents more than at nearby stations. Bayern followed at 40 cents for E10 and 39 cents for diesel, while Baden-Württemberg posted 40 and 37 cents respectively. Sachsen, an eastern outlier, showed gaps of 36 cents (E10) and 37 cents (diesel).

Especially in Rheinland-Pfalz, a short refuelling stop off the motorway is particularly worthwhile. Anyone who plans a few extra minutes and refuels at a nearby station can quickly save more than ten euros per tank.

At the other end of the scale, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern had the smallest premiums, at just 17 cents for both fuels in Brandenburg and 17 cents (E10) and 16 cents (diesel) in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Hessen, Saarland, Thüringen and Sachsen-Anhalt all fell below the national average, with gaps ranging from 23 to 29 cents. No data were available for Berlin and Bremen.

Driver behaviour

Despite the potential savings, a concurrent ADAC survey of more than 1,500 autobahn users found that nearly a quarter of respondents never exit the motorway to refuel, regardless of the price difference. 63 percent said they do leave the autobahn for cheaper fuel, the vast majority doing so once the gap reaches 20 cents per litre.

Study background

The analysis is the first to cover all 360 motorway service stations and roughly 14,000 street-side stations across Germany. Previous ADAC comparisons relied on smaller samples. Prices were tracked from 6 to 19 April, a period without the temporary fuel tax rebate but already under the so-called 12-Uhr-Regel that limits daily price changes. Although the two-week window saw sharp price swings, the ADAC stated that the fundamental findings remain unaffected.