Independent · International · Reader-first
Cars, charging and running costs.
The ADAC quotes 99 euros. DEKRA describes a 15-minute test and no figure at all. TÜV Rheinland withdrew its battery check in February 2025.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 14 September 2026 · 6 min read
Two testing organisations and three licensing authorities publish almost exactly the same figures for the official parts of a German driving licence. The rest — the ADAC puts the total at roughly 2,500 to well over 4,500 euros — is nowhere published as a price.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 13 September 2026 · 6 min read
The GDV put the 2024 bill at nearly two billion euros. We checked who actually publishes a self-payer price for a chip repair — and who does not.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 11 September 2026 · 7 min read
The Eighth Act amending the Motor Vehicle Tax Act pushed the qualifying first-registration date out to 2030 and capped the exemption itself at 31 December 2035. Register later and you get less than ten years. After that, weight decides.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Short-term plate, export plate, dealer plate. German registration offices publish their fees to the cent; the motoring club publishes only ranges. The largest item on the bill appears in no fee schedule at all.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 9 September 2026 · 5 min read
Six European countries publish their traffic fine schedules. For the same offence the gap runs to a factor of four — and the threshold at which a foreign notice is collected in Germany sits below almost every one of those amounts.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 8 September 2026 · 6 min read
Two of Germany's largest airports publish a complete, dated parking tariff. A third lists twelve car parks and not a single euro figure.
Meridians Reise-Redaktion · 7 September 2026 · 7 min read
Four German test stations publish both prices. Their roadworthiness fees land within a euro of each other. The § 23 StVZO assessment that turns a car into a legal classic does not — and the price lists never say what is in it.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 6 September 2026 · 7 min read
Six municipal websites, six different answers to the same question. And in North Rhine-Westphalia, a court ruled in April that the fees had been charged without a valid legal basis since 2024.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 5 September 2026 · 6 min read
The idle fee is the one line on a charging bill you can avoid completely. Here is what the big networks in Germany actually publish — and why Tesla's number does not belong in the same column.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 2 September 2026 · 5 min read
The ADAC ran two weeks of price data from 14,000 stations. The gap between motorway and ordinary roads is large — and the gap between motorway stations themselves is almost as large.
Meridians Reise-Redaktion · 1 September 2026 · 5 min read
The ADAC breakdown statistics for 2026 put electric cars below combustion cars in every age bracket measured — and name the same component as the leading cause for both.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 31 August 2026 · 6 min read
Germany's ADAC publishes a total-cost-per-kilometre table for around 1,200 models twice a year. We pulled two of the PDFs — and in several places the ranking by purchase price does not match the ranking by running cost.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 30 August 2026 · 6 min read
The green Umweltplakette is one standardised sticker, defined by one ordinance. Six issuers publish six different prices — and two publish none at all.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 29 August 2026 · 5 min read
Eight years and 70 percent remaining capacity is the industry standard. Tesla tiers the mileage cap by variant up to 240,000 km, Toyota extends its capacity warranty to 250,000 km if the car passes an annual battery test — and Mercedes-Benz publishes no figure at all on the pages we checked.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 28 August 2026 · 8 min read
Berlin charges 20.40 euros for a permit valid up to two years. Tübingen charges 25 euros a month. Every figure here comes from the city's own official page — and from the federal court ruling that struck down one city's pricing.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 27 August 2026 · 7 min read
Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary all charge a flat motorway fee instead of a per-kilometre toll. Here is what each one publishes, and what it costs to be caught without one.
Meridians Reise-Redaktion · 26 August 2026 · 9 min read
The fee for registering a car is fixed in federal law. We pulled the published lists of four German licensing offices anyway — and the counter costs roughly double what the online route does.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 25 August 2026 · 6 min read
Three dents up to 20 mm per panel, bumper scratches under 20 mm, summer tyres from 2 mm of tread: the German industry standard for fair vehicle appraisal is a public PDF, and it is far more specific than most lessees expect.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 24 August 2026 · 7 min read
One club posts its full schedule of dues as a PDF, one names a single flat figure, one advertises half price for the first year — and the largest gives only "from" prices and has just voted an increase without saying how much.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 24 August 2026 · 7 min read
Nine and a half million roadworthiness tests, 216 model types, four straight years of rising defect rates. The spread among two- to three-year-old cars runs from 2.9 percent to 17.3 — and age still explains more than badge.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 23 August 2026 · 7 min read
In July, regulators capped Tesla's Las Vegas robotaxi fleet at 10 vehicles. On August 20, the same board approved network permits letting Tesla grow to 5,000, with Uber and Waymo each cleared for 1,000.
Meridians Travel Desk · 22 August 2026 · 5 min read
No date makes winter tyres compulsory in Germany. Road conditions do. Since October 2024 the old M+S marking no longer counts, and the rule applies to foreign plates too. Here are the fines and the prices the ADAC actually recorded.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 22 August 2026 · 6 min read
Aral pulse, Ionity and EWE Go publish full price tables. EnBW publishes part of one, Tesla none at all. We priced a 40 kWh stop.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 21 August 2026 · 8 min read
Five German test centres publish their fees online. We fetched them — and name the ones that publish nothing.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 21 August 2026 · 7 min read
When the display fails at startup, the turn signals and hazard lights go with it. The fix is a software update, and owners will not hear about it until late September.
Meridians Travel Desk · 20 August 2026 · 4 min read
A parts supplier's failure to fully quarantine defective turn-signal lamps means the fix Rivian issued last year didn't catch every affected R1S and R1T.
Meridians Travel Desk · 13 August 2026 · 4 min read
A charger's advertised power is a ceiling, not a promise. What your car actually draws depends on several things at once.
Meridians Travel Desk · 11 July 2026 · 6 min read
The ADAC quotes 99 euros. DEKRA describes a 15-minute test and no figure at all. TÜV Rheinland withdrew its battery check in February 2025.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 14 September 2026 · 6 min read
Two testing organisations and three licensing authorities publish almost exactly the same figures for the official parts of a German driving licence. The rest — the ADAC puts the total at roughly 2,500 to well over 4,500 euros — is nowhere published as a price.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 13 September 2026 · 6 min read
The GDV put the 2024 bill at nearly two billion euros. We checked who actually publishes a self-payer price for a chip repair — and who does not.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 11 September 2026 · 7 min read
Short-term plate, export plate, dealer plate. German registration offices publish their fees to the cent; the motoring club publishes only ranges. The largest item on the bill appears in no fee schedule at all.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 9 September 2026 · 5 min read
Six European countries publish their traffic fine schedules. For the same offence the gap runs to a factor of four — and the threshold at which a foreign notice is collected in Germany sits below almost every one of those amounts.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 8 September 2026 · 6 min read
Two of Germany's largest airports publish a complete, dated parking tariff. A third lists twelve car parks and not a single euro figure.
Meridians Reise-Redaktion · 7 September 2026 · 7 min read
Four German test stations publish both prices. Their roadworthiness fees land within a euro of each other. The § 23 StVZO assessment that turns a car into a legal classic does not — and the price lists never say what is in it.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 6 September 2026 · 7 min read
Six municipal websites, six different answers to the same question. And in North Rhine-Westphalia, a court ruled in April that the fees had been charged without a valid legal basis since 2024.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 5 September 2026 · 6 min read
The idle fee is the one line on a charging bill you can avoid completely. Here is what the big networks in Germany actually publish — and why Tesla's number does not belong in the same column.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 2 September 2026 · 5 min read
The ADAC ran two weeks of price data from 14,000 stations. The gap between motorway and ordinary roads is large — and the gap between motorway stations themselves is almost as large.
Meridians Reise-Redaktion · 1 September 2026 · 5 min read
Germany's ADAC publishes a total-cost-per-kilometre table for around 1,200 models twice a year. We pulled two of the PDFs — and in several places the ranking by purchase price does not match the ranking by running cost.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 30 August 2026 · 6 min read
The green Umweltplakette is one standardised sticker, defined by one ordinance. Six issuers publish six different prices — and two publish none at all.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 29 August 2026 · 5 min read
Eight years and 70 percent remaining capacity is the industry standard. Tesla tiers the mileage cap by variant up to 240,000 km, Toyota extends its capacity warranty to 250,000 km if the car passes an annual battery test — and Mercedes-Benz publishes no figure at all on the pages we checked.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 28 August 2026 · 8 min read
Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary all charge a flat motorway fee instead of a per-kilometre toll. Here is what each one publishes, and what it costs to be caught without one.
Meridians Reise-Redaktion · 26 August 2026 · 9 min read
The fee for registering a car is fixed in federal law. We pulled the published lists of four German licensing offices anyway — and the counter costs roughly double what the online route does.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 25 August 2026 · 6 min read
One club posts its full schedule of dues as a PDF, one names a single flat figure, one advertises half price for the first year — and the largest gives only "from" prices and has just voted an increase without saying how much.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 24 August 2026 · 7 min read
Aral pulse, Ionity and EWE Go publish full price tables. EnBW publishes part of one, Tesla none at all. We priced a 40 kWh stop.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 21 August 2026 · 8 min read
Five German test centres publish their fees online. We fetched them — and name the ones that publish nothing.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion · 21 August 2026 · 7 min read
| Product class | Compared on | Price sources monitored | Price data |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Compact electric cars |
| Manufacturer configurator · Dealer list prices · Lease & finance quotes | Price check in progressNo verified price published yet |
| 02 Home charging |
| Manufacturer configurator · Dealer list prices · Lease & finance quotes | Price check in progressNo verified price published yet |
| 03 Tyres |
| Manufacturer configurator · Dealer list prices · Lease & finance quotes | Price check in progressNo verified price published yet |
01 Compact electric cars
Sources: Manufacturer configurator · Dealer list prices · Lease & finance quotes
Price check in progress
02 Home charging
Sources: Manufacturer configurator · Dealer list prices · Lease & finance quotes
Price check in progress
03 Tyres
Sources: Manufacturer configurator · Dealer list prices · Lease & finance quotes
Price check in progress
How we compare prices
No prices are shown until they have been verified. We do not display estimated or automated prices.
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