How Much Does It Really Cost to Own a Car in Germany?

The purchase price is the smaller half of the decision. Here is what a normal German household actually spends per year, and how to work out your own figure.

Kfz-Steuer: how it is calculated

Vehicle tax has two components: engine displacement and CO2. Petrol is taxed at €2 per 100 cm³ started, diesel at €9.50 per 100 cm³. On top sits a CO2 element, charged only above 95 g/km in rising bands.

A worked example: VW Golf 1.5 TSI

• Kfz-Steuer: 1498 cm³ → 15 × €2 = €30, plus CO2 at ~130 g/km → 35 × €2.20 = €77. Total ≈ €107/year
• Insurance (SF 15, Teilkasko, mid-size city): €450–700/year
• Fuel: 15,000 km at 6.5 l/100 km and €1.75/l ≈ €1,700/year
• Servicing and wear: €400–700/year averaged
• HU/AU: €145 every two years ≈ €73/year
• Depreciation on a €20,000 five-year-old car: €1,500–2,200/year

The honest total

Costs people underestimate

• Winter tyres — legally required in winter conditions. A second set plus storage is €400–900 up front.
• Parking — a Stellplatz in Munich or Frankfurt runs €80–200 a month
• Anwohnerparkausweis — cheap in most cities, but rising fast (Freiburg and others now charge well over €200/year)
• Depreciation — the largest single cost on anything under eight years old, and invisible until you sell

Where diesel still wins

Diesel pays its higher tax back only at high mileage. The rough break-even against petrol is somewhere above 20,000 km a year. Below that, the cheaper petrol car, cheaper insurance and no DPF worries usually win.