Hi All: I just saw a story that TN registered HEVs and PHEVs will be hit with an additional registration fees vs a non-hybrid. TN HEVs, PHEV, and BEVs drivers will be hit with an extra fee tacked on when they get their license plate tag renewed beginning this year. The registration fee for BEVs is $200, and $100 for HEV and PHEVs. If you own a 100% gas-fueled car, there is no extra fee. The justification for the fees is the loss of state revenue that typically comes in from gas taxes. EV drivers, of course, don’t use gasoline, so they aren’t chipping in any gas tax revenues. Governor Bill Lee signed the Transportation Modernization Act in April of last year, saying the extra revenue will alleviate urban congestion and fund road projects in rural areas. <-- The first excuse is total BS of course. In 2028, the renewal price for all electric vehicles will be $274 a year, and after that, the cost will be adjusted for inflation. The cost for hybrids and plug-in hybrids will remain at $100 through 2028 with the cost being adjusted for inflation after that. TN charges $0.26/gallon in state taxes on fuel so let us use this as a base justification for the extra $100 for HEV/PHEV owners. The average hybrid owning TN driver averages ~ 50 mpg and consumes on average 260-gallons of fuel to cover 13,000 miles per year. In doing so, he or she provides $68 in gasoline taxes to state coffers for that consumption. The average non-hybrid TN driver averages ~ 25 mpg and consumes on average 520-gallons of fuel to cover 13,000 miles per year. In doing so, he or she provides $135 in gasoline taxes to state coffers for that consumption. I guess the "patriots" running the TN legislatures do not like HEVs and PHEVs much and therefore are going to take more than the loss in state taxes are. In my own case in my own vehicle use the state fuel tax would look like this: I drive ~ 35k miles/year within the state of TN at ~ 70 mpg of which I add ~ $130 to the states coffers through the $0.26/gallon in state fuel tax. If I drove a non-hybrid the same distance (35k miles) but at 45 mpg, I would have added $202 to the state coffers. Again, a shortfall of just $70, not $100. There is no state tax on electricity use so the state receives nothing from its use. Wayne
Of course, Hybrids & BEVs aren't given monetary credit for lessening in-city air pollution that extends & saves the lives of citizens, specially in states that have investments in continued use of fossil fuels & fossil-fueled vehicles.
