USA: Texas asks EV owners to pay $400 registration fee

The proceeds collected from EVs and per gallon tax will go to funding Texas' roads.

According to media reports, Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, USA, has signed a new bill that requires EV owners to pay an initial $400 when registering their new vehicles. This is further followed by a $200 annual fee every subsequent year to renew their vehicle's registration. The new rule is scheduled to come into effect from September 1, 2023.

The new rule is said to be applicable only to vehicles powered by a pure-electric powertrain. It doesn't affect owners of hybrids or plug-in hybrid vehicles, who will continue to pay the $0.20 per gallon tax on petrol. The proceeds collected from EVs and per gallon tax will go to funding Texas' roads.

Reports state that with over 2,00,000 EVs on the road in Texas and around 30,000 added this year alone, the new fee is expected to raise around $38 million by the year's end. The gas tax, though, is expected to raise $3.8 billion in revenue in Texas by 2024.

However, people driving ICE-powered cars in Texas, pay an average of $130 per year in gas taxes. Hence, there have been many advocates and critics who took issue with EV owners having to pay annual registration fees and that the amount was too high. Despite this, the Texas legislative house has approved the bill, making it an official policy.

Source: CarScoops