The newly available fuel discount appears to have been almost entirely passed on to consumers. This conclusion is based on a study by the RWI Leibniz Institute for Economic Research, reported by the “Rheinische Post”.
According to the investigation, fuel prices dropped by approximately 16 cents per liter across all fuel types on May 1st. This assessment utilized data from the market transparency body. The federal government had reduced the energy tax on fuels by 14 cents per liter alone; when the value-added tax (VAT) is included, this results in a potential price reduction of 16.7 cents.
Manuel Frondel, an energy expert at RWI, told the newspaper that he was surprised by the full pass-through of the discount. He noted that even previous studies on the fuel discount in 2022 had shown that oil conglomerates initially shifted the relief to consumers.
Frondel anticipates that, unlike in 2022, the major oil companies will now act differently by passing on the discount permanently. He presumes that the fuel discount will continue to be largely transferred to the public because the oil companies are well aware of the public and antitrust scrutiny under which they stand. Consequently, they are likely to forgo maximizing their profit margins rather than facing any further criticism.