Auto: Ifo: Tankrabatt wirkt bei Benzin, bei Diesel nur teilweise

The latest tank rebate is nearly complete for gasoline drivers over the past seven days, but only partially for diesel, according to new data from the Ifo Institute in Munich. For super gasoline, the tax reduction of 17 cents per liter was almost fully passed on, with 16 cents for super E10 and the full 17 cents for super E5. However, for diesel, the distribution remains incomplete, with only around 14 cents of the 17 cents being passed on to drivers, according to Florian Neumeier, deputy head of the Ifo Center for Financial Studies.

This mirrors the situation during the previous tank rebate, which also fell short of the government's projected 17 cents in May and June.

Neumeier points out that there are significant gaps in the distribution of the rebate since its inception on October 1st. When combined, this results in roughly 16 cents for E5 and 14 cents for both diesel and E10. More expensive gasoline contributes to inflation, as the Ifo compares gasoline prices in Germany with those in France, where such a rebate has not been introduced.

They use data from the Market Transparency Unit of the German Cartel Office and the French Ministry of Economy. The reference period covers the three weeks prior to the rebate's introduction. The German government introduced the new tank rebate in response to the sharp increase in oil prices due to the Iran war, which will be in effect until the end of the year.

In September, the war led to record prices at the pumps, causing inflation to rise to 3.3 percent in that month, the highest level in nearly three years. The Bundesbank expects inflation to remain "significantly increased" into the next year, as reported recently.