Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

COST OF LIVING

Where in Switzerland can you find the cheapest fuel?

Fuel prices are skyrocketing throughout Switzerland. But there are ways to save money at the pump — here’s how.

Published: 22 October 2021 13:21 CEST
Updated: 8 March 2022 09:04 CET
Fuel prices in Switzerland, though high, are less expensive than in neighbour countries.
Petrol is expensive in Switzerland but there are ways to save money at the pump. Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.

Fuel – i.e. gasoline, petrol, diesel – has always been expensive in Switzerland and it is becoming even more costly to fuel up.

The price jumped from 1.40 to 1.80 francs per litre in 2021, according to Roland Bilang, director of Avenergy Switzerland, formerly the Swiss Petroleum Association.

Fuel cracked the CHF2 per litre mark in early 2022, due at least in part to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Experts warned in early March that the CHF3 per litre mark was not out of the question due to the ongoing international turmoil. 

This difference of 40 cents represents an increase of 20 francs to fill an average tank.

READ MORE: Why is Switzerland about to become even more expensive?

Several factors account for the climbing costs of fuel

The Ukraine conflict has seen a worldwide spike in oil prices, which has flow-on consequences for prices at the pump. 

Another factor is that demand remains stronger than supply, which increases the prices, said Laurent Pignot, spokesperson for motoring organisation Touring Club Suisse (TCS).

Switzerland imports nearly half of its crude oil from Africa; the remaining half comes from Mexico, the United States and Kazakhstan, according to government figures.

Another reason for rising prices is the cost of transporting oil on the Rhine. “As the level of the river is low, the boats cannot be fully loaded and have to make more round trips”, Pignot pointed out. 

Driving in Europe: What are the Covid rules and checks at road borders?

“Consequently, the price of gasoline increases by a cent per litre”, he added.

Also, since January 1st, gasoline in Switzerland has been taxed an additional 3.7 cents per litre to finance environmentally friendly fuels.

However, even with price hikes, filling up a tank is still cheaper in Switzerland than in neighbouring countries, which is unusual, as prices for most goods are lower across the border. 

A reason for this is comparatively lower tax rates on petrol in Switzerland. Only Austria has lower fuel taxes than Switzerland (among Switzerland’s neighbours). 

But cross-border shopping trend is reversed when it comes to gasoline.

“German, but above all French, ‘fuel tourists’” get their petrol in Switzerland, Blick reports.

So if you’ve been crossing the border to go shopping, fill up your tank when back on Swiss territory if you want to save. 

Can you save money on petrol in Switzerland, and if so, how?

Petrol distributors and stations compete with each other, which is good news for consumers.

RTS public broadcaster analysed petrol prices at various stations in several regions and found lowest prices at Rasthof Platenenhof station in Gampelen (BE).

Another cheap fuelling option is a few kilometres away, at the Pit-Stop de Boudevilliers in Val-de-Ruz in canton Neuchâtel.

In fact, RTS reported that this whole region benefits from cheaper gasoline due to its proximity to the Cressier-Cornaux refinery and large volume of purchases.

Another low-cost location is in Samnaun, canton Graubünden in the region of Engiadina Bassa / Val Müstair.

The price there is 30 percent cheaper than on the notoriously expensive Lake Geneva region.

The reason for this price disparity is that this community of just over 700 inhabitants is a historic fiscal enclave that does not apply VAT or other taxes.

Other options include EK Automobile in Kestenholz, Solothurn and Tankstelle Fiechter in Teufenthal, Aargau.

But what if you don’t live in these areas?

You can still save some money on petrol if you do your research and know where the best (meaning: cheapest) places are to fuel up in your region.

Here are some tips:

Autoclub memberships often offer discounts on petrol. ACS members and TCS members can save between two and five cents per litre. 

Larger petrol retailers will also often have discount deals, while Swiss supermarkets also offer deals with particular gas station chains. 

Prices are usually the highest on (or close to) motorways, in or near large cities, and at branded chain stations. You can find better deals at smaller, independent stations away from main roads.

However, you should avoid going too far out of your way to save on fuel.  

“A one-cent difference on the price of the litre justifies a detour of  two to three kilometers, at most. Otherwise, the excess consumption drowns the economy on a 50-litre tank”, said TCS’s Erich Schwizer.

One useful website listing cheaper petrol options throughout Switzerland is this.

READ MORE: How can you save on your household energy bills in Switzerland

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

SHOPPING

REVEALED : Are ‘discount’ supermarkets in Switzerland really cheaper?

Lidl, Aldi and Denner claim their prices beat those of large Swiss retailers. But is this really the case?

Published: 18 April 2024 11:40 CEST
REVEALED : Are ‘discount’ supermarkets in Switzerland really cheaper?

Common consumer goods (except one) are typically more expensive in Switzerland than in neighbour countries — sometimes by much.

This includes food.

READ ALSO: Why Switzerland is the most expensive country in Europe

That is especially the case of largest Swiss chains, Migros and Coop, while Denner, Lidl, and Aldi say their food prices are significantly lower.

To find out whether this claim is actually true, journalists from RTS public broadcaster’s consumer programme went shopping in each of these supermarkets. 

They purchased the same 30 products in each of the five supermarkets on the same day, to ensure that the price comparison is as accurate as possible.

Not what you’d expect

In each of the stores, the investigators purchased only the lowest priced items from the supermarkets’ budget lines.

It turned out that most money was spent at Denner, widely considered to be one of the lowest-priced supermarkets.

The total for the 30 items came to 181.67 francs — more than was spent at the country’s more expensive stores, Migros and Coop, where identical basket of goods cost 170.37 and 167.82 francs, respectively.

(That, in itself, is surprising as well, because Migros typically has lower prices than Coop).

As for the other two supermarkets, these purchases cost 166.59 francs at Aldi and 162.05 at Lidl.

So the difference in price between Migros and Coop versus Aldi and Lidl is minimal. But what is even more surprising is that the cost of groceries at ‘cheap’ Denner is actually highest of the lot, by between 11 and nearly 20 francs.

Migros and Coop performed quite well in the comparison survey because most of the items purchased in those stores came from their budget lines, M-Budget and Prix-Garantie, respectively, both of which were introduced to compete with Aldi and Lidl.

But how important is price? Patrick Krauskopf, a professor of anti-trust law, told RTS: “German, French, English, Spanish and American consumers pay a lot of attention to price. In Switzerland, consumers place more emphasis on quality of service. Price is almost secondary.

“Distributors have realised this and have stopped competing fiercely on price.”

Big versus small

While this particular analysis focused on supermarket chains, another survey, conducted at the end of 2023, looked at prices in small grocery shops. 

Common logic has it that it is cheaper to shop in supermarkets than a local corner store, because big retailers purchase products in large quantities, which means lower prices for consumers.

However, prices in some local shops were found to be “up to 30 percent cheaper than Migros and Coop.” 

The reason is that in order to cut costs, small grocers may buy their products from the most cost-effective suppliers, a tactic which includes importing some items.

Another reason for lower prices is that unlike major supermarkets, which ‘pretty up’ their stores for better presentation of products, these small retailers are ‘no-frill’ shops. This means little money is invested in décor, so there are no extra costs to pass on to consumers.

 READ ALSO: Why it might be cheaper to avoid the big supermarkets in Switzerland
 

SHOW COMMENTS