Cartel Office: Massive north-south divide

Created: 09/08/2022Updated: 09/08/2022 2:46 p.m

A man refuels his car at a gas station.

© Marijan Murat/dpa/symbol image

Up to 27 cents lie between the cheapest and the most expensive region of Germany when it comes to fuel prices.

Bavaria is by far the most expensive, but even 100 kilometers can make a big difference in some places.

Bonn – The Bavarians are currently by far the most expensive to fill up, but drivers in Berlin and Bremen and drivers of petrol engines in Stuttgart can save.

The Bundeskartellamt determined differences of up to 27 cents per liter between the cheapest and most expensive regions of Germany for premium E 5 petrol, as announced on Thursday.

With diesel it is up to 24 cents.

In the south of Bavaria in particular, an average daily price of between 2.19 and 2.20 euros per liter of E5 had to be paid last Monday.

The cheapest regions were parts of Berlin, Stuttgart and Bremen with values ​​of 1.93 to 1.96 euros per liter.

The low prices in parts of Baden-Württemberg are particularly surprising: there is only around 100 kilometers between the very cheap Stuttgart and the nearest very expensive region in Bavaria.

Diesel was also the most expensive nationwide in large parts of Bavaria.

The region around and south of Munich was hit the hardest, with values ​​just under EUR 2.28 per liter.

The diesel was the cheapest in Bremen and parts of Berlin with values ​​above 2.04 euros.

Unlike premium petrol, Baden-Württemberg was comparatively expensive here.

All in all, fuel is again very expensive after the end of the tax rebate: "The industry is mainly citing shortages and cost increases," said Cartel Office President Andreas Mundt.

There are “certain circumstances” such as the reduction in refinery capacity in the pandemic, the loss of imports from Russia, refinery failures, transport problems due to low water and the resurgence in demand that have to be taken into account.

"In our investigation of the refinery and wholesale level, we are investigating whether the price development and the still large gap to crude oil prices can be sufficiently explained by this." The first results should be available in autumn.

In addition, Mundt expressed reservations about studies that had recently shown, based on comparisons with French fuel prices, that the tax cut had been passed on to a considerable extent.

"Such a country comparison provides helpful information, but cannot conclusively assess the different competitive situations in the two countries," he said.

The Cartel Office also makes its own calculations.

dpa