Deutschlandnetz on the Autobahn 2026: 100 Charging Parks Open – Status, Operators, Prices
📅 Published on October 13, 2026
Information as of 13 October 2026. It is based on reports from ecomento.de, drweb.de, elektroquatsch.de and electrive.net (sources at the end). Rollout figures change continuously and prices change even faster – check them on site.
At the end of September 2026, the 100th Deutschlandnetz fast-charging park at an unstaffed Autobahn rest area went into operation on the A81 towards Stuttgart. That is the halfway point of the programme's Autobahn part – a good moment to count soberly: what is the Deutschlandnetz, who operates the sites, how fast is the rollout going, and what do we (and don't we) know about prices?
A note upfront: this article is no substitute for live information on individual chargers. It puts the reports in context and shows what they mean for planning a long trip. For the situation at existing service areas and Autohöfe, also read our article on the ADAC test of charging on the Autobahn.
What is the Deutschlandnetz?
The Deutschlandnetz is a programme of the German Federal Ministry of Transport. Private companies build and operate around 9,000 additional fast charge points on behalf of the federal government. According to the reports, about 900 sites are planned in towns and rural areas ("Regionallose") and about 200 sites at unstaffed Autobahn rest areas ("Autobahnlose") with roughly 1,000 charge points in total. According to drweb.de, the federal government invests about €2.3 billion. The aim is to close gaps where a purely commercial rollout has so far been less attractive.
One inconsistency in the reports: ecomento and elektroquatsch speak of "more than 1,000 sites" overall, while the body text at drweb names about 900 plus 200 Autobahn sites – which adds up if you combine both groups. We therefore use no exact total number of sites, only the order of magnitude.
According to electrive.net, the four operators of the Autobahn lots were selected in February 2024: Fastned, E.ON, TotalEnergies and Autostrom. The same source says the first Autobahn site opened in November 2024 at Depenauer Moor on the A21 (Autostrom Plus). An important distinction: the Deutschlandnetz concerns unstaffed rest areas without a petrol station. Staffed service areas with a petrol station follow a different regime – there, the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court ruled on 6 March 2026 that fast-charging sites must go through a tender procedure (see the ADAC-test article for context).
The 100th site: A81, Räthisgraben
According to ecomento.de and elektroquatsch.de, the 100th Autobahn charging park is at the unstaffed Räthisgraben rest area on the A81 towards Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg. The operator is E.ON Drive Infrastructure. The site has six charge points of up to 400 kW each. Per ecomento it was opened by Federal Transport Minister Steffen Bilger; drweb gives 28 September 2026 as the start of operation.
On charging time: the Autobahn GmbH states that a mid-size car can add electricity for 300 to 500 kilometres of range there in ten minutes. That is a best-case statement. Elektroquatsch explicitly points to the assumptions: a fast-charging-capable vehicle, a low starting state of charge, suitable battery temperature and a favourable charging curve; 800-volt vehicles can typically use high power better. For your car: the 400 kW is what the charger can deliver – not what your vehicle accepts. Why that is so is explained in kW, kWh and amps explained.
According to the reports, payment is possible with common charging cards as well as debit and credit cards; no prior charging contract is needed. That fits the ad-hoc idea of the AFIR – more in our article on AFIR card payment. The reports we checked do not state prices for the 100th site.
How fast is the rollout?
According to drweb.de, 25 Deutschlandnetz sites on the Autobahn were in operation in October 2025, with 58 under construction. With the 100th site, 75 have been added since – a good six per month. That is a clear pace, but not the original target: according to drweb the network was meant to be finished by the end of 2026. Extrapolating the pace so far, about 100 sites remain, which would take roughly 16 months – around spring 2028. That is drweb's extrapolation, not an official forecast; build times vary with grid connections and permits.
For comparison with older figures: in our ADAC article we cite a government target of around 1,000 new fast charge points by the end of 2026 (according to netzwelt). On current numbers, that date is hard to meet. If you are planning trips for winter 2026/27, don't assume all 200 sites are available yet.
What the numbers mean for your route
A hundred sites are a noticeable contribution for a country with thousands of kilometres of Autobahn, but not yet a blanket solution. Three practical points can be derived from the reports (conclusions from the numbers, not guarantees):
1. Many sites, few charge points per site. By the programme figures, the typical Autobahn site has about five charge points on average (1,000 points at 200 sites); the 100th site has six. If several vehicles arrive at once during holidays, there may be a wait – elektroquatsch notes that six charge points are a solid start, but reliability under heavy holiday traffic remains an open question.
2. High power, but only if your car plays along. With up to 400 kW per charge point, the new sites are designed for fast-charging-capable cars. Vehicles with a low maximum charging power benefit little; they will not charge much faster there than at a 150 kW charger.
3. A plan B remains a must. The sites are new, but not free of faults. Note down at least a second site within range before you leave. More tips are in our EV road trip tips.
Prices: what is known and what is not
According to our sources there is no uniform Deutschlandnetz price; operators set their own. Two documented data points as reference – not as a guarantee for any particular site:
E.ON, A7 Wolfsgrund West (July 2025): According to electrive.net the ad-hoc price without registration was €0.73/kWh; for the first three months there was an introductory price of €0.59/kWh. That is a price from the opening – today's prices may differ.
Fastned (from 1 April 2026): According to electrive.net the ad-hoc price in Germany fell from 73 to 69 ct/kWh; for app users with a debit or credit card stored from 65 to 62 ct/kWh; with Gold membership (€11.99 per month) from 51 to 48 ct/kWh. The provider's reason: the federal government's temporary grid-fee subsidy for 2026 (€6.5 billion), which is meant to save about 2 ct/kWh on average. Whether a similar subsidy will exist in 2027 is open, according to the report. Fastned is one of the four Autobahn-lot operators; the prices cited are the provider's network prices – the report does not say whether they are identical at every single Deutschlandnetz site.
What the difference means in euros can be recalculated from these numbers. Example: charging 40 kWh. At €0.73/kWh that costs €29.20; at the then introductory €0.59/kWh, €23.60 – a €5.60 difference. At Fastned you pay €27.60 for 40 kWh ad hoc (€0.69/kWh) and €19.20 with Gold (€0.48/kWh), i.e. €8.40 less. The Gold fee of €11.99 per month pays off against the ad-hoc price from about 58 kWh per month (€11.99 ÷ €0.21/kWh ≈ 57.1 kWh), and against the 62 ct app price only from about 86 kWh (€11.99 ÷ €0.14/kWh ≈ 85.6 kWh). That only holds if you regularly charge with this provider anyway. More on tariff models in on-the-road charging tariffs and the charging card comparison 2026.
Important: the ad-hoc price is often the highest. Setting up a charging card or app shortly before the trip often saves money – but not every provider is cheaper at every site. At newly opened sites in particular, prices and introductory offers change quickly. That is why the price other drivers actually paid most recently is often a better guide than a list price – see community prices vs. list prices for why.
How Elunio can help – and where the limits are
Elunio shows charging stations on a map and in a list, filters by power and price and displays prices that other drivers have reported at a station. Data coverage differs by region: the best live coverage is in Baden-Württemberg (live occupancy via MobiData BW) and the DACH region; elsewhere the status relies on community reports and is not gap-free. We cannot guarantee that a brand-new site such as a freshly opened charging park is already entered in the underlying data sources – new sites can appear with a delay. Details in the article on live status of charging stations. If you have charged at a new site, a reported price helps the next drivers.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Deutschlandnetz?
A federal programme in which private operators build around 9,000 additional fast charge points – about 900 sites regionally and about 200 at unstaffed Autobahn rest areas.
How many Autobahn sites are in operation?
With the 100th site on the A81 (Räthisgraben, towards Stuttgart), half of the planned 200, according to drweb.de as of 29 September 2026.
When will the network be finished?
The original plan was the end of 2026. At the same pace, drweb's extrapolation gives roughly spring 2028; we found no official new date in the reports we checked.
Can I pay by card there?
According to the reports on the 100th site, yes – with charging, debit and credit cards, without a prior contract. Check at the charger before relying on it.
What does charging there cost?
It depends on the operator. Known data points: €0.73/kWh ad hoc at E.ON (A7, July 2025) and €0.69/kWh ad hoc at Fastned since April 2026. Current prices are shown at the charger or in the operator's app.
Conclusion
With 100 of 200 planned Autobahn charging parks, the Deutschlandnetz is at the halfway point but not yet at its goal – and the original end-2026 schedule is likely to be missed. In practice: the new sites are a good addition for fast-charging-capable cars, but they replace neither planning with alternatives nor a price comparison before you set off.
Sources: ecomento.de – "Verkehrsminister eröffnet 100. Deutschlandnetz-Schnellladepark an der A81" (29.09.2026) · drweb.de – "Deutschlandnetz Autobahn-Ladeparks: Halbzeit" (as of 29.09.2026) · elektroquatsch.de – "Deutschlandnetz: 100 Autobahn-Ladeparks, A81" · electrive.net – "Deutschlandnetz: Erster E.ON-Ladepark an der Autobahn am Netz" (29.07.2025) · electrive.net – "Fastned senkt Ad-hoc-Ladepreis in Deutschland auf 69 Cent/kWh" (24.03.2026) · auto-motor-und-sport.de and ecomento.de on the OLG Düsseldorf decision of 06.03.2026 (see ADAC article)