Electric Vehicles

Electric Vehicle (EV) Registration Fees

Electric vehicle (EV) registration fees are fees that EV owners must pay at the time of purchase. These fees are typically added on top of the usual annual ownership fees and often exceed the amount that gas-powered vehicle owners pay in gas taxes.

Roads, bridges, highways, and other transportation infrastructure are funded by the gas tax; however, funds collected per capita are decreasing due to increasingly efficient internal combustion engines and the prevalence of hybrid and electric vehicles. Since EV owners pay no gas tax, EV registration fees are one way to ensure EV owners contribute to the cost of transportation infrastructure. 

Although EV registration fees ensure EV owners pay their fair share, they cannot adequately address the growing loss of gas tax revenue due to increasingly efficient gas-powered vehicles (both fully gas-powered and hybrid). EVs only account for about 1% of vehicles registered in the U.S., meaning that alternative transportation funding models must also be considered.

Utility construction of EV charging infrastructure brief

As EV manufacturing grows, so does the need for chargers. So far, the private sector, federal government, and utilities have invested about $13 billion, $6 billion, and $2 billion, respectively, in charging infrastructure. While both private companies and utilities own charging infrastructure across the US, states are questioning whether utility ownership negatively impacts ratepayers, businesses, and the local workforce. While utilities claim to protect against preferential and profit-driven charger siting, companies worry that utility monopolies over charging infrastructure stifle competition, hinder charger deployment, and increase electric bills.