DRIVERS who made the electric switch are now being punished for doing so in a questionable legislative decision.
The latest move in local government leaves citizens fuming over mixed signals and what, in their opinion, is unfair treatment.
Delaware’s state government recently passed a new measure which will tax electric vehicle owners to compensate for the gas tax revenue inherently lost by their usage.
The fees can range anywhere from $15 for all electric motorcycles to as high as $900 for certain four-or-more-wheeled vehicles.
These fees will go into effect at the start of October, and will be retroactively applied to previous EV registrations as well as those in the future.
Delaware’s Department of Motor Vehicles has argued that the fee ensures all vehicle owners contribute to road maintenance, regardless of fuel type, but EV and non-EV drivers alike don’t buy it.
“I think people who use electric vehicles are doing something good for the Earth, and they shouldn’t have to pay extra. I mean, their vehicles are already expensive as it is,” non-EV driver Alyssa Fitzgerald told local CBS affiliate WBOC.
Other locals are instead highlighting the apparent hypocrisy of this latest move in relation to the state’s adoption of the Advanced Clean Cars regulation.
“It just seems like they’re doing two things. They’re taking away our freedom of choice and then they’re taxing us on taking away that freedom,” said driver Paul Kelly.
The regulation would see automobile manufacturers required to “include a specific percentage of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) in the fleet of cars they provide for sale in Delaware.”
For 2027, the first year these percentages would take effect, 43% of new cars and trucks sent to the state for sale must be ZEVs. This would increase to 82% in 2032.
Effectively, this regulation in combination with the new EV fees will allow the state to push EVs on its constituents while also taxing them for succumbing to this influence.
The price is broken down by weight range and the exact type of electric vehicle, such as a plug-in hybrid versus a standard electric vehicle.
The measure even includes fees for any “other fuel type vehicle,” a move which seemingly futureproofs it against any additional alternative fuel sources which could be developed.
For most EV owners, their fees will cost somewhere between $60 to $150 depending on the exact type of EV they own.
This range of fees covers the highest possible weight a mass market electric vehicle can have, with the GMC Hummer EV topping the charts at a max of roughly 9,000 pounds as of this writing.
Pros and cons of EVs vs gasoline-powered vehicles
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Source: Car & Driver, Perch Energy, AutoWeek
Generally speaking, commercial EVs will be the only ones hitting the upper $900 fee limit given that a weight in excess of 26,000 pounds is needed.
Delaware has already begun sending postcards to its EV-owning citizens, with invoices to follow by mail or email. Payment is due at the start of November.
While it may be the latest state to do so, Delaware is far from the only one to take this route, with 41 states having some sort of additional registration fees for EVs as of August, per the National Conference of State Legislatures.
In recent years, major manufacturers like GM, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Aston Martin have all at least reined in their EV plans, if not abandoned them outright.
Meanwhile, other big names like Ford are charging ahead with their EV plans, as evidenced by the leaked plans to revive the Ranchero with a green twist.
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