States Ramp up Attacks on Incentives for Electric Vehicles

As federal support for electric vehicles (EVs) is expected to wither under the Trump administration, state-level policies will play the biggest political role in how quickly battery powered motors replace the internal combustion engine.

Yet, at this critical moment when state governments should be supporting zero-emission vehicles, many states are cutting their incentives, while others are penalizing EV drivers outright.

In a recent article for The New York Times, Hiroko Tabuchi explores a number of efforts underway in state capitals across the country that are making the transition to electric cars a steeper uphill climb.

These speed bumps take two main forms:  1) the canceling of tax credits that support EV sales and leases, and 2) new registration fees that disproportionately penalize battery-powered vehicles.

These legislative attacks on EVs bear the fingerprints of Big Oil, which sees the electrification of the transportation sector as the biggest single threat to the oil industry.  Groups funded by the likes of ExxonMobil and the Koch brothers are supporting the measures, and in some cases, even writing the bills.

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