Fuel tourism

‘Lower German petrol price lures only small proportion of border residents’

Ongeveer 10 procent van de huishoudens in de grensstreek tankt veel meer in Duitsland zodra Nederlandse brandstof duurder wordt.

Petrol has been considerably cheaper in Germany than in the Netherlands since 2023, but for most Dutch people in the border region, that price advantage is no reason to fill up across the border. This is according to research by ABN Amro, reported by economics magazine ESB.

In the past, petrol prices in the Netherlands were often higher than in Germany. Between mid-2022 and July 2023, fuel prices were temporarily at about the same level, the researchers write. Reasons were the economic recovery after the pandemic, lower investments by oil and gas companies and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. To keep fuel affordable for households, the Netherlands and Germany took separate fiscal measures. There was price parity until the Netherlands withdrew its excise duty reduction in July 2023. This made filling up in Germany seem attractive again for 1.5 million Dutch people living within 10 kilometres of the border.

Small group

The study shows that there is a difference in the number of litres refuelled between households in and outside the border region after the excise duty increase. Households in the border region filled up an average of 3.6 litres less in the Netherlands than households outside the border region. In the week before the excise duty increase, both households in and outside the border region filled up significantly more than in the weeks before.

Yet it appears that fuel tourism is limited to a small group. Most people hardly react to price differences, the researchers report. More than half of border region residents, for instance, went to fill up in Germany 10 per cent more often at most. About 10 per cent of households in the border region refuel much more in Germany as soon as Dutch fuel becomes more expensive. This group filled up about 80 per cent of their petrol in Germany in the second half of 2023, compared to 10 per cent in the first half of the year. According to the researchers, income does not play a significant role in this.

Finally, the study shows that the Dutch government is losing millions of euros in excise taxes (79 cents per litre of petrol). About 700,000 households live in the border region, and three quarters of Dutch people own a car. As a result of higher excise duties, tens of millions of litres less fuel will soon be sold in the Netherlands.

About the study

The research was conducted by Finn Blokker, data scientist, and Jeannine van Reeken-van Wee, senior economist and data scientist, both working at ABN AMRO. They examined the fuelling behaviour of Dutch households in 2023 based on anonymous PIN transaction data from ABN AMRO customers. The dataset included about 75,000 households.

Also read:

This article was automatically translated from the Dutch language original to English (British).

Author: Nina Koelewijn

Source: MobilityEnergy.com

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