About TankstellenWelt

TankstellenWelt

TankstellenWelt, styled tankstellenWelt, is the specialist magazine for the filling-station industry in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, published by the UNITI Services GmbH of Berlin and the association organ of the filling-station trade's central association. Appearing monthly in its 13th year in 2026, it addresses the operators of filling stations, the managers of station networks, and the decision-makers among suppliers and service providers, with a print run of around 26,000 copies. The magazine is the official organ of the Zentralverband des Tankstellengewerbes (ZTG), the central association of the filling-station trade, whose ZTG report is enclosed with the magazine for members. Its tagline, "Tanken, Waschen, Bistro, Shop," captures the four revenue pillars of the modern station that structure its editorial program.

Overview

TankstellenWelt serves the entire filling-station industry in the D-A-CH region. Its main target groups are the leaseholders, owners, and station managers who operate filling stations, the executives of station networks, and the decision-makers and specialists among suppliers and service providers. The magazine appears monthly, with double issues 1/2 and 7/8, in a DIN A4 format, and its print run of around 26,000 copies is distributed with about 20,000 in Germany, 4,000 in Austria, and 2,000 in Switzerland, a distribution that mirrors the D-A-CH industry's structure.

The editorial program follows the station's business across its four pillars, fueling, washing, bistro, and shop, with each issue's cover stories rotating through the themes that move the industry. Coverage includes the fuel market and alternative energies, car-wash technology and sustainability, bistro and catering concepts, and the shop business, where tobacco and nicotine products play an outsized role: the magazine's editorials note that operators earn a good two-thirds of their shop revenues with tobacco, securing a good third of their gross earnings despite modest margins. Industry news, interviews with entrepreneurs, association reports, and event coverage round out the offering, with an editorial advisory board of industry personalities advising the editorial team and the publisher on an honorary basis.

History

TankstellenWelt is in its 13th year in 2026, making it a relatively young title in a sector served by long-established publications. It was launched by the UNITI media group, the publishing arm of the UNITI Bundesverband mittelständischer Mineralölunternehmen, the industry association of Germany's mid-sized mineral-oil companies, giving it an institutional anchoring in the independent, medium-sized segment of the fuel industry.

A decisive step in the magazine's development was the decision of the Zentralverband des Tankstellengewerbes (ZTG), the most important association of filling-station operators and the interest group of the trade's leaseholders and owners, to make TankstellenWelt its association organ, with the ZTG report enclosed with the magazine for the association's members. The ZTG's chairman Ernst Vollmer explained the choice by noting that the magazine reaches the operator on site as well as the decision-maker in the mineral-oil company, among suppliers and service providers, and in politics and society, making it the logical medium for the association's member communication. The editors-in-chief Manfred Ruopp and Hans Rongisch welcomed the decision as confirmation of the magazine's claim to give station leaseholders and owners the relevant and current information they need in their daily station routine. With the association organ role, the editorial advisory board also grew, adding the station entrepreneur Ernst Vollmer and the ZTG managing director Jürgen Ziegner to the circle of industry personalities advising the magazine.

Since then the magazine has consolidated its position as the D-A-CH industry's monthly companion, covering the sector's transformation: the rise of alternative fuels, the sustainability of car washing, the professionalization of station bistros, and the tobacco business that remains the shop's economic backbone, securing a good third of operators' gross earnings.

Coverage and Content

TankstellenWelt's editorial program is organized around the station's four business pillars and the industry's transformation. Fuel coverage follows the conventional fuel market and the shift to alternatives, from HVO to electric charging, and the magazine reports on pioneering operators such as the team energie company, whose managing director Kim Lorenzen is interviewed on the industry's direction. Car-wash coverage addresses technology and sustainability, including DEKRA-certified sustainable washing, and the magazine follows the events and innovations of the wash business.

Bistro and shop coverage addresses the retail and catering side: bistro concepts, the search for paths out of the "tobacco and beverage trap" that the magazine's editorials diagnose in station shops, and product categories from bananas to nicotine products. Tobacco coverage is particularly prominent, reflecting the category's economic weight: the magazine reports on the InterTabac, the world's largest trade fair for tobacco products and nicotine, which it calls a truly important event for the filling-station industry, and on market developments such as the end of the Intermezzo Praxis arrangement and the transfer of the OIL! stations to Enilive.

The editorials set the tone for each issue, discussing the industry's calendar, from the UNITI "Zukunftsforum Tankstelle" to the InterTabac, and the challenges of the moment, such as the growing illegal cigarette trade documented in new KPMG studies. Interviews with entrepreneurs, reports from the associations, and the enclosed ZTG report for members complete the offering, giving the magazine a dual character as both industry journal and association medium. The magazine's ISSN is 2196-1247, and its media consulting is handled by Matthias Wiechert of the UNITI media group.

Organization and Ownership

TankstellenWelt is published by the UNITI Services GmbH of Berlin, at Jägerstrasse 6 in the 10117 district, the media arm of the UNITI Bundesverband mittelständischer Mineralölunternehmen, the industry association of Germany's mid-sized mineral-oil companies. The managing director is Elmar Kühn. The editors-in-chief are Manfred Ruopp and Hans Rongisch, who lead the editorial team and are quoted as the magazine's editorial voices.

The magazine is the official organ of the Zentralverband des Tankstellengewerbes (ZTG), with the ZTG report enclosed for the association's members, and its editorial advisory board includes industry personalities such as the station entrepreneur Ernst Vollmer and the ZTG managing director Jürgen Ziegner, who advise the editorial team and the publisher on an honorary basis, a structure that keeps the magazine close to the operators it serves. Media consulting is handled by Matthias Wiechert. Financial details of the magazine's operations are not publicly confirmed beyond the circulation and rate-card figures published in its media data.

Digital Presence

TankstellenWelt's digital home is tankstellenwelt.de, where the magazine publishes reading samples of current issues as PDFs, including the full tables of contents, editorials, and selected articles. The site carries the magazine's media data, subscription information, and contact details, and it presents the brand's service functions for readers and advertisers.

The reading samples show a fully produced monthly magazine with cover stories, editorials, interviews, and the enclosed association content. The media data documents the brand's reach: a print run of around 26,000 copies across the D-A-CH region, monthly appearance with two double issues, and an advertising rate card extending to full-page rates of 6,900 euros, with double-page spreads at 12,000 euros. Social media activity for the specialist title is not documented in detail in the sources reviewed; the brand's digital presence rests on its website, its PDF reading samples, and its institutional anchoring in the UNITI association and the ZTG, whose member communication flows through the magazine, making it the industry's central information channel in print and online.