Overview

• From 2012 to 2021, diesel cost on average 15.4 cents less per liter than E10, but the margin has collapsed to roughly 5 cents in mid-2025, according to ADAC data.
• Germany consumed about 32 million tons of diesel in 2024, importing some 13 million tons compared with 2 million of 18 million tons of gasoline, making diesel more vulnerable to global supply shifts.
• After scaling back direct purchases from Russia following the Ukraine war, replacement diesel now arrives mainly from the United States, Western Europe and the Arab region at higher market rates.
• ADAC analyses show diesel was the cheaper option in 13 of 20 popular vehicle comparisons in 2019 but in only 7 of 20 models this year, with one model at parity and twelve more costly than their gasoline counterparts.
• Individual vehicle analyses show that some diesels can still recoup costs at around 10,000 annual kilometers, but these cases are becoming rarer as most models now require much higher mileage to be economical.