States yanking electric-car incentives and smacking on fresh fees to pay for infrastructure
For drivers of electrical cars, going green is embarking to take more green.
A growing number of states are imposing fresh fees on electrified vehicles as officials scrounge for ways to pay for infrastructure projects they say are long overdue. At least five states, including California, passed bills targeting the cars this year, bringing the total number with fees on the books to 13. The charges generally range from $100 to $200 a year.
“Safe and sleek roads make California a better place to live and strengthen our economy,” Gov. Jerry Brown said in a statement when the bill passed this spring. “This legislation will put thousands of people to work.”
The passage of the fee in California — home to one of the most prominent names in electrified vehicles, Tesla Motors — underscores the shift in sentiment toward the technology. Many states primarily encouraged drivers to make the switch to cleaner cars through tax incentives and other measures. But now, cash-strapped and pothole-ridden, states are asking the eco-friendly to pay up.
“We see this as a concerning trend,” said Gina Coplon-Newfield, director of the electrified vehicles initiative at the Sierra Club. “We certainly want to see funding raised to support roads and bridges and transit. … But penalizing electrical vehicle drivers is not the way to solve this problem.”
The shift comes just as Tesla gives the green light for its very first mass-production car , the Model Trio.
Proponents of the fees say the issue is one of fairness. Since 2013, twenty four states and the District of Columbia have moved to raise their gas tax, including five states just this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In California, a 12-cent hike in the gas tax is expected to pay for almost half of the state’s $52.Four billion infrastructure package to repair roads and alleviate congestion.
But since electrical cars don’t need gas, those drivers don’t pay the tax — even however they use the same roads as traditional cars. California’s fresh $100 annual fee on electrical vehicles will go into effect in two thousand twenty and is expected to raise $200 million over the next decade.
“This landmark legislation offers counties real hope to catch up on a significant backlog of deferred maintenance,” California State Association of Counties President Keith Carson said in a statement. “We’re eventually going to be able to begin fixing potholes, improving pavement and making sure our bridges are structurally sound.”
But environmental advocates worry the fees could curtail electrical vehicle sales. Edmunds.com estimates the cars account for just 0.6 percent of the auto market. Sales growth has slowed dramatically, from two hundred twenty seven percent in two thousand thirteen to just five percent last year, according to the data.
In addition to the fees, the Sierra Club counted seven states that have eliminated rebates for purchasing an electrified vehicle. Coplon-Newfield said sales plummeted in Georgia after the state enacted fresh ownership fees and got rid of the incentives.
Also facing extinction: a $7,500 federal tax credit for buying an electrified car. The credit expires once manufacturers sell 200,000 vehicles, and major automakers such as Tesla, General Motors and Nissan are on track to hit that limit within the next few years. But advocates are worried that the credit could wind up on the chopping block even sooner amid sweeping efforts to simplify the tax code.
Genevieve Cullen, president of the Electrical Drive Transportation Association, said her organization is willing to help fund infrastructure projects. But she said the current fees are arbitrary. She pointed to the debate in Vermont, where a latest state government report instead recommends postponing electric-car taxes until they make up fifteen percent of vehicles on the road. The report projected that would happen in 2025.
“Everyone needs to pay their fair share, but the fact is that we think it’s premature to impose fees on a technology that’s contributing to so many other national, state and local goals,” Cullen said. “As part of a comprehensive fix of infrastructure funding, let’s put everything on the table. … But in the meantime, to create impediments to a fresh technology that has a lot to suggest seems not the best solution.”