German EV Drivers Paid Less Than a Quarter of Petrol Costs per 100 km in July

End of Fuel Tax Relief Widens Gap Between Petrol and Electric Costs

German drivers saw running costs for combustion-engine cars jump in July after the government’s fuel tax break expired, while owners of electric vehicles who charge at home using a smart tariff barely felt the rise. According to data from electricity supplier Tibber, petrol and diesel vehicles cost an average of €14.49 per 100 kilometres to refuel in July, up by 11 percent and 14 percent respectively from the previous month. That figure reflected an average pump price of around €2.09 per litre, more than 12 cents higher than when the temporary tax relief was still in place, and compounded by high oil prices linked to tensions over Iran.

By contrast, drivers who use Tibber’s dynamic tariff and automatic smart charging spent just €3.52 to cover the same distance. The gap means that refuelling an electric car at home during July cost less than a quarter of the amount required to fill a comparable petrol or diesel model. The company’s analysis draws on data from more than 10,000 customer households and credits the remarkably low electricity costs to an unusually large supply of cheap solar power throughout the month.

A total of 79 hours with negative prices on the wholesale electricity exchange – primarily around midday when solar generation peaked – allowed households with smart chargers to schedule charging for those windows, in effect being paid to consume power. While July’s conditions were particularly favourable, the figures underline a structural cost advantage for home-charged EVs that is now becoming a decisive factor in household transport budgets.

Why Smart Charging and a Solar Surge Made July an Outlier for EV Savings

Tibber’s Data Shows a 75% Cost Advantage

The headline differential is dramatic: a household driving 1,000 km a month would save roughly €110 in energy costs over that distance compared with a petrol car, purely from the difference in fuel and electricity prices. This is not a laboratory comparison but a real-world observation from July across thousands of customers who let the Tibber platform decide automatically when to charge. The algorithm prioritised periods when spot prices dipped below zero, effectively turning what would normally be a cost into a tiny credit. The saving is amplified by the end of the fuel tax cut, which alone added over 12 cents to every litre sold, and by sustained high crude prices that have pushed pump costs above the €2 threshold for much of the year.

Why Public Charging and Fixed Tariffs Paint a Different Picture

The €3.52 figure does not apply to every EV driver. It is specific to homes with a dynamic electricity contract linked to the wholesale market and a smart charger that can react to price signals. Drivers who rely on public fast-charging stations generally pay between 40 and 70 euro cents per kilowatt-hour, yielding a per-100 km cost of roughly €8 to €13 – still competitive with petrol, but far closer to the €14.49 of a traditional car. Households on fixed-rate tariffs, where electricity costs around 30 to 35 cents per kWh, would see their EV running costs roughly double to €7 or €8 per 100 km, cutting the saving to around half. The exceptional gap recorded in July thus reflects a combination of policy, weather and tariff choice that may not be replicated each month.

What This Means for Your Household Budget

• If you already own an EV, switching to a dynamic electricity tariff and a smart charger that automates midday charging could cut your per-100 km cost to well below €4 during sunny months – a saving of over €10 compared to a petrol car at current fuel prices, based on July data.
• The saving hinges on charging when the grid is flooded with cheap solar power; set your charger to operate between roughly 11:00 and 15:00 in summer to capture the lowest prices, and expect a smaller advantage in winter when solar output drops.
• Drivers who rely on public rapid chargers should check local prices carefully before buying an EV: while still cheaper than filling a petrol tank, the gap is far narrower, typically €8–13 per 100 km, and depends on network tariffs that can change without notice.
• Even on a fixed-rate home tariff, an EV can halve energy costs versus a combustion-engine car, so households unable to install a smart charger or unwilling to adopt a dynamic tariff still stand to gain – just not to July’s extreme degree.
• For anyone still driving a petrol or diesel vehicle, July’s €14.49 per 100 km benchmark – and the prospect that fuel prices may stay high given oil market tensions – strengthens the financial argument for switching to an electric car, assuming home charging is possible.