The 12 noon rule at petrol stations has been in effect since April, but it has not lowered fuel prices, according to the ADAC. The automobile club is therefore calling for the measure to be abolished “promptly”. At the same time, the ADAC on Wednesday described the new fuel discount planned from October as “the right step” towards quickly easing the burden on motorists. It takes a more sceptical view of the fuel price cap planned for January.
The ADAC’s main criticism of the 12 noon rule is that the price difference within a single day has increased significantly. Drivers who need to refuel after 12 noon face “significant additional costs that cannot be justified in any way”. An ADAC survey found that 77% of motorists did not see any price-reducing effect from the rule. The 12 noon rule “has not achieved its goal from the consumer’s perspective”, said ADAC Transport President Peter König.
The renewed fuel discount for three months is “currently the realistically implementable way to quickly ease the burden on motorists”, the automobile club said. The German government plans to introduce another fuel discount from October until the end of the year, similar to the measure in May and June. To do so, it intends to reduce the energy tax on diesel and petrol by 14 cents per litre. Including the VAT charged on the reduced amount, this results in a total tax reduction of 17 cents per litre.
The measure is expected to cost €2.5 billion. The federal states will cover half of the cost. The Bundesrat must therefore approve the measure, as must the Bundestag. Both are scheduled to vote on the fuel discount on Friday.
Andreas Mundt, President of the Federal Cartel Office, called on the mineral oil industry to pass on the tax relief to motorists as fully and quickly as possible. However, the Cartel Office “cannot enforce” an obligation requiring companies to pass on the full tax reduction, he told the Rheinische Post.
Ines Schwerdtner, co-chair of the Left Party, described the appeal as an “expression of helplessness”. She criticised the fact that oil companies in Germany could “do whatever they want” and called urgently for a proper price monitoring authority. According to Schwerdtner, such an authority should ensure transparency in price formation throughout the entire supply chain, “from oil extraction to the petrol pump”.
Regarding the fuel price cap announced by the government, the ADAC said it could protect consumers from extreme price spikes in the short term, but would not automatically guarantee permanently lower prices.
The “decisive” factors would be the specific level of the cap and how the permitted price is calculated. According to the ADAC, the cap must not be set so low that it causes supply shortages or even restrictions on fuel availability. At the same time, it must not be set too high, which would place an even greater burden on consumers. The regional structure of Germany’s fuel market is another factor, the ADAC said, as prices vary significantly between regions. “A uniform maximum price is therefore particularly challenging.”
At petrol stations, the price of Super E10 fell by 3.3 cents per litre compared with the previous week, according to the ADAC, reaching €2.267 per litre. The price of diesel remained stable, increasing by 0.6 cents to €2.428 per litre.
The 12 noon rule has been in effect since April. Since then, petrol stations have only been allowed to increase fuel prices once a day, at 12 noon. Price reductions, however, can still be made at any time. The main aim of the rule is to prevent frequent short-term price increases during the day and thereby give consumers greater transparency and predictability when buying fuel.
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