The rest of the world is handing out subsidies and incentives to speed up adoption of electric cars. But in nearly half of U.S. states, driving a battery-powered car requires paying additional fees.
To date, 24 states have imposed special fees on electric vehicles, according to a national association of state legislatures. The money usually comes in the form of higher registration costs that can range up to $200 per year. More states are poised to follow. Last week, one Illinois legislator even proposed a $1,000 annual registration fee for electric cars.
It's a sharp reversal. When the new wave of plug-in cars hit the market in 2010, the federal government and a clutch of states adopted financial incentives to juice sales, seeing the vehicles as a way to fight global warming.