Spritpreise: Wo kommt am meisten vom Tankrabatt bei den Autofahrern an?

In response to soaring fuel prices due to the Iran war, the German government introduced a second fuel rebate in October, aimed at providing relief to consumers. The law calls for a reduction in the energy tax by 14 cents per liter, which, including the scrapped VAT, results in a reduction of approximately 17 cents per liter for consumers.

However, the effectiveness of the rebate has been questioned, with economists criticizing the significant intervention in price formation. Higher fuel prices are meant to encourage lower consumption, but the reduced tax dampens this incentive. Moreover, mineral oil companies and other market players do not fully pass the rebate on to end consumers.

Data from the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) and the Ifo Institute's tank rebate tracker document these effects of the tax measure. The data reveals that the distribution of the rebate is not constant, especially on weekends when a smaller portion of the tax reduction reaches the pumps. This is because many people cannot avoid using their cars for activities on weekends, leading them to accept the higher prices.

The rebate's impact is also varied by fuel type. In the past week, a noticeable difference emerged with E5 gasoline, where the rebate was almost fully passed on at 16.5 cents per liter, while for diesel, it was only 14 cents. This can be explained by the groups that favor diesel usage: professional drivers and owners of service vehicles.

These individuals cannot save much on fuel due to their job requirements. Additionally, the availability of fuel supply affects the distribution of the rebate. While Germany can meet its gasoline demand, a significant portion of diesel is imported. Neumeier explains that the longer the supply chain, the more opportunities there are to squeeze profits.

The location of the fuel station also impacts the distribution of the rebate. Autobahn service stations saw an average of nine cents less per liter of diesel between October 1st and 21st compared to the previous month. In cities and rural areas, the difference is only a fraction of a cent. The timing of the rebate distribution also varies, with data from "Tanken Tanken" showing that in cities and towns, the rebate was distributed at an average of eleven cents per liter of diesel compared to the pre-month period.

Prices at service stations are also significantly higher. Those traveling with almost empty tanks have no choice but to pay higher costs. Thus, the distribution of the rebate is also lower. The location of the fuel station plays a role in how much of the reduced energy tax reaches the consumer. Service stations affiliated with company chains like Aral or Shell pass on the price reduction more readily to their customers.

They pay higher prices with reduced tax than consumers who buy fuel at independent stations. However, the gap between company-affiliated and independent stations has narrowed since the beginning of October. In September, the average price difference between company-linked and free stations was 3.54 cents per liter of diesel, which decreased to 2.77 cents between October 1st and 21st.

Neumeier from the Ifo Institute emphasizes that companies do not only earn from fuel sales; independent stations, on the other hand, have to consider their margins and have a lesser incentive to pass on the rebate. The impact of the rebate on prices in the coming two months can be inferred from the data of previous rebates. Both in 2022 and between early May and the end of June 2026, stations gave less back to consumers at the end of the rebate period.

This time, additional factors such as the holidays around New Year's and Christmas may influence this distribution negatively. Carl Kreuzberg from DIW, co-responsible for the tank rebate monitor, notes that it is plausible that this could negatively affect the distribution of the rebate.