‘Tempolimit? Nein, danke!’: why German petrolheads won’t slow down – despite the energy crisis
Driving fast is in ‘the German DNA’, say lovers of the speed-limit free Autobahn, but support in the country for a restriction is growing
Death-defying thrills are not what draws Lutz Leif Linden to zip down the Autobahn faster than a plane taking off. Instead, the feeling of freedom and an appreciation of technological mastery play a part in his “almost loving relationship” with driving cars faster than most people can imagine.
The top speed he has reached on the road in Germany, the world’s only democracy without a blanket speed limit on motorways, is 400km/h (249mph). “It’s like an airplane,” said Linden, the president of the Automobile Club of Germany (AvD). “You are faster than an Airbus at start.”
Often compared to the US’s attachment to guns, the German need for speed has weathered decades of pressure to hit the brakes even as environmental and political crises have mounted. Last week, the International Energy Agency (IEA) issued the latest appeal for drivers to slow down as it urged countries to cushion the price shock from the biggest blow to oil supply in history.
The long-running debate over speed has become an emblem of a fight between shared green benefits and personal freedom in a country where cars – particularly fast ones – are still considered king. “It’s like the German DNA,” said Linden.
Germany restricts speeds on about 70% of its Autobahn, giving motorists on the rest of it the freedom to drive faster than the 130km/h (80mph) guideline. Public opinion has long been split on the merits of introducing a blanket Tempolimit, but in recent years has tipped slightly in favour. Yet the political mood has not caught up.
In Bavaria, the conservative home of carmakers such as BMW and Audi, the Christian Social Union (CSU) channelled Germany’s famous anti-nuclear slogan in 2020 when it campaigned under the banner: “Tempolimit? Nein, danke!”
Christian Lindner, a Porsche-driving former finance minister, described the debate as “nonsensical” during the 2022 energy crisis. Friedrich Merz, the centre-right chancellor, has dismissed the proposal as “purely symbolic”. The IEA’s latest call to hit the brakes has been roundly ignored.
Opponents of a speed limit argue a blanket ban is unnecessary and that country roads are more dangerous, with some calling for maximum speeds to be adjusted based on traffic and weather. When it comes to the benefits of driving fast, they cite the time saved over long distances and an appreciation of the freedom to set their own speed.
“When you’re in the right car, the road is clear, and you can really open it up, you enter a kind of flow state,” said Ariane Lattke, the president of the German Women’s Automobile Club. “You’re fully focused, keeping an eye on everything around you, and your mind becomes clear. Calm and in control. It feels like your brain is working faster.”
Researchers have made the case for slowing down in terms of money, fuel and lives. A study in 2023 found a speed limit of 130km/h would lead to nearly €1bn a year in societal benefits. In 2024, the German Environment Agency found the proposal would cut greenhouse gas emissions from road transport by 2.2% and other toxic air pollutants by slightly more. In October 2025, the first study of its kind in half a century found the 130km/h limit would not save lives to a level that is statistically significant, but a slightly stricter limit of 120km/h would reduce motorway deaths by 36%.
Public opinion appears to have shifted. A majority support the Tempolimit among voters of all the big parties except the far-right Alternative für Deutschland and the market-liberal Free Democrats, a YouGov poll found in 2024. Even among members of the ADAC, the country’s biggest motorist association, support has gone up over the last decade to reach 55% last year.
On Thursday, as regional transport ministers from across Germany’s federal states gathered, civil society organisations used the latest oil crisis to demand change. Groups ranging from environmental activists to police unions called for a general speed limit on motorways, along with caps of 80km/h outside built-up areas and 30km/h in cities.
Germany’s love for cars dates back to the late 1800s, when Carl Benz patented the first “vehicle powered by a gas engine”, but it was after the second world war that motorised vehicles became cemented in the national psyche. The roaring success of the German car industry created jobs, gave citizens the freedom to travel and brought in tax revenues that helped finance a prosperous welfare state.
Part of its success came from speed. The “Made in Germany” brand – world-renowned for high quality and precise engineering – was boosted by customers flying in to buy fast cars, testing their limits on unrestricted motorways and then shipping them home to countries where they would never move so fast.
“The Tempolimit itself is the most reasonable thing to do because the absence of it kills people, very plainly,” said Luisa Neubauer, a climate activist from Fridays for Future. “But it would be the end of the mentality that we need fast cars … Germany must be the beacon that keeps up that hope, even if it’s just pretend.”
The industry has found itself in a crisis as high energy prices and competition from China on electric vehicles have resulted in factory closures and job losses. Germany led successful efforts to water down an EU ban on the sale of combustion engine cars from 2035.
A spokesperson for VDA, Germany’s biggest car lobby, described the climate impact of a blanket speed limit as “minimal” and “increasingly insignificant” as the car fleet becomes more electrified.
“It is clear that sections of motorway with an increased risk of accidents, high traffic volumes or roadworks should be subject to a speed limit,” the spokesperson said. “But this does not require a general, rigid speed limit on open-road sections of the motorway.”