Tennessee has started the process of hiking its EV registration fee from $100 to $274 per year and beyond, aiming to continue hiking the fees in perpetuity, further increasing the disproportionately high taxes paid by EVs in the state as compared to gas cars.
We’ve covered many times before how misguided these taxes are, not least of which because they are the result of a cynical lobbying ploy by the oil industry to disadvantage a better transportation method.
Tennessee’s $100 fee was lower than that of many other states, but it still taxed EVs at a much higher rate than a similarly-efficient gas vehicle. For example, a ~140mpg gas car, if it existed, would pay ~$28 in gas taxes in a year if driven 15k miles, but a 140mpge EV, which there are multiple of, used to pay $100 even if it was low mileage. As a flat fee, it also adds a small disincentive for drivers to remain low mileage, which doesn’t help with congestion or road usage.
This year, Tennessee’s EV fee has doubled to $200 – but it’s not stopping there, with the state claiming that it will continue increasing to $274 in 2026, and then continue increasing beyond that along with inflation. Tennessee lawmakers and the Department of Transportation commissioner had asked to raise the fee to $300, which would have tripled the already-disproportionate fees that EVs pay.
But one big issue here is: inflation was not 100% last year, and won’t be 37% in the next two years. These hikes are well beyond inflation, on top of a fee that was already too high per the calculations above.
Not only that, but the gas tax has not been indexed to inflation in Tennessee. In fact, the gas tax has lagged inflation significantly, getting smaller over time in comparison to the value of a dollar. You can see a history of Tennessee gas taxes here, showing that drivers used to pay 7 cents per gallon in 1931, but only pay 26 cents now (plus a “1.4-cent special petroleum fee“). If gas taxes had kept up with inflation since then, they would be $1.42 per gallon – meaning they’re ~5.4x too low, compared to inflation.
But that’s because gas taxes didn’t go up for 50 years in Tennessee, until there was a measly 2 cent bump in 1981. Starting our calculations from that year, gas taxes are a lot closer to keeping up with inflation, but still should be about 20% higher than they currently are – and that’s without accounting for 2023’s inflation or the next few years’ worth which will be captured by this near-tripling of EV fees.
What’s worse, this year’s tax hikes were not well publicized, and many Tennessee EV drivers were left in shock with a doubling of fees from one year to the next.
If this trend keeps, then the gulf between TN’s gas tax and EV tax would continue to increase, becoming more and more unfair to EV drivers who already pay more than if they were driving a similarly-efficient gas vehicle, and much more than the amount of damage they’re doing.
The rationale for Tennessee’s tax is similar to those in other states – Tennessee is laboring under the misguided notion, propagated by Koch/fossil fuel industry propaganda, that electric vehicles don’t pay for roads. But in fact, the vehicles that are doing damage to roads also don’t pay for the damage they’re causing to roads – gas + license taxes only cover ~60% of Tennessee’s road costs, which means that fossil-powered vehicles are freeloading on at least a third of the road budget anyway.
And in actuality, virtually all road damage is done by diesel semi trucks anyway, not gas or electric cars, so road damage has little to do with passenger vehicles. An average EV does tens of thousands of times less damage to roads than a semi truck over the course of the year, so if a $274 fee is considered fair for an EV, then semi trucks should be paying registration fees in the millions of dollars – and if the latter sounds too high, then simple math means one must also acknowledge that the former is too high, if road damage is the main concern.
On top of this, gas taxes certainly don’t pay for the immense damage that burning gasoline causes, which cost society about $4 per gallon burned. The total cost of subsidies to dirty energy in America, a large portion of which goes to gasoline for motor vehicle use, was $760 billion in 2022. Few states even attempt to correct for this subsidy, with only a few having any sort of pollution pricing scheme. So gas vehicles are freeloading on our lungs even moreso than they’re freeloading on the roads.
The real solution, as ever, is to implement a drivetrain-agnostic road fee that takes into account weight and mileage, and another drivetrain-agnostic pollution fee to correct for the damage that each vehicle causes in pollution (these can be added to energy costs, tire costs, etc.). But instead, Tennessee would rather bow to fossil fuel propaganda and attempt to balance its entire road budget by overtaxing the 22,040 EVs in the state instead of implementing a long-term solution that might make gas cars (and diesel trucks) start paying their fair share.
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In a bold bid to combat the crippling air pollution crisis in its capital, Delhi, Indian lawmakers have begun high-level discussions about a plan to phase out gas and diesel combustion vehicles by 2035 – a move that could cause a seismic shift in the global EV space and provide a cleaner, greener future for India’s capital.
Long considered one of the world’s most polluted capital cities, Indian capital Delhi is taking drastic steps to cut back pollution with a gas and diesel engine ban coming soon – but they want results faster than that. As such, Delhi is starting with a city-wide ban on refueling vehicles more than 15 years old, and it went into effect earlier this week. (!)
“We are installing gadgets at petrol pumps which will identify vehicles older than 15 years, and no fuel will be provided to them,” said Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa … but they’re not stopping there. “Additionally, we will intensify scrutiny of heavy vehicles entering Delhi to ensure they meet prescribed environmental standards before being allowed entry.”
Making it prohibitively difficult for Dehli’s residents to own and operate older, presumably more polluting vehicles is one way to reduce harmful emissions and air pollution, but Sirsa’s team isn’t just targeting newer vehicles. They’re also planning to deploy more than 900 electric transit buses, part of a larger plan to replace 5,000 of the city’s 7,500 total bus with lower- or zero-emission options this year alone.
The Economic Times is reporting that discussions are underway to pass laws requiring that all future bus purchases will be required to be electric or “clean fuel” (read: CNG or hydrogen) by the end of this year, with a gas/diesel ban on “three-wheelers and light goods vehicles,” (commercial tuk-tuks and delivery mopeds) potentially coming 2026 to 2027 and a similar ban privately owned and operated cars and bikes coming “between 2030 and 2035.”
Electrek’s Take
After a Chinese government study linked air pollution caused by automotive exhausts and coal-fired power plants to more than 1.1 million deaths per year in 2013, the nation’s government took serious action, shuttering older coal plants and imposing strict emissions standards. The country also incentivized EV adoption through license-plate lotteries favoring electric cars and a nationwide EV mandate set to kick in by 2030.
The results were astounding, and the technological innovations that have come from an entire nation of talented engineers all “pulling in the same direction” have put the West to shame, with Western auto executives repeatedly sounding the alarm and lobbying for tariffs and other protectionist policies on both sides of the Atlantic.
To see India make move towards a gas and diesel ban like this, and on such an aggressive timeline, can only mean that they’ve been paying attention … and America is about to fall even further behind.
SOURCE: India Times; featured image by Sumita Roy Dutta.
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Last week, Parker Hannifin launched what they’re calling the industry’s first certified Mobile Electrification Technology Center to train mobile equipment technicians make the transition from conventional diesel engines to modern electric motors.
The electrification of mobile equipment is opening new doors for construction and engineering companies working in indoor, environmentally sensitive, or noise-regulated urban environments – but it also poses a new set of challenges that, while they mirror some of the challenges internal combustion faced a century ago, aren’t yet fully solved. These go beyond just getting energy to the equipment assets’ batteries, and include the integration of hydraulic implements, electronic controls, and the myriad of upfit accessories that have been developed over the last five decades to operate on 12V power.
At the same time, manufacturers and dealers have to ensure the safety of their technicians, which includes providing comprehensive training on the intricacies of high-voltage electric vehicle repair and maintenance – and that’s where Parker’s new mobile equipment training program comes in, helping to accelerate the shift to EVs.
“We are excited to partner with these outstanding distributors at a higher level. Their commitment to designing innovative mobile electrification systems aligns perfectly with our vision to empower machine manufacturers in reducing their environmental footprint while enhancing operational efficiency,” explains Mark Schoessler, VP of sales for Parker’s Motion Systems Group. “Their expertise in designing mobile electrification systems and their capability to deliver integrated solutions will help to maximize the impact of Parker’s expanding METC network.”
The manufacturing equipment experts at Nott Company were among the first to go through the Parker Hannifin training program, certifying their technicians on Parker’s electric motors, drives, coolers, controllers and control systems.
“We are proud to be recognized for our unwavering dedication to advancing mobile electrification technologies and delivering cutting-edge solutions,” says Nott CEO, Markus Rauchhaus. “This milestone would not have been possible without our incredible partners, customers and the team at Nott Company.”
In addition to Nott, two other North American distributors (Depatie Fluid Power in Portage, Michigan, and Hydradyne in Fort Worth, Texas) have completed the Parker certification.
Electrek’s Take
With the rise of electric equipment assets like Bobcat’s T7X compact track loader and E10e electric excavator that eliminate traditional hydraulics and rely on high-voltage battery systems, specialized electrical systems training is becoming increasingly important. Seasoned, steady hands with decades of diesel and hydraulic systems experience are obsolete, and they’ll need to learn new skills to stay relevant.
Certification programs like Parker’s are working to bridge that skills gap, equipping technicians with the skills to maximize performance while mitigating risks associated with high-voltage systems. Here’s hoping more of these start popping up sooner than later.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Parker Hannifin.
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Based on a Peterbilt 579 commercial semi truck, the ReVolt EREV hybrid electric semi truck promises 40% better fuel economy and more than twice the torque of a conventional, diesel-powered semi. The concept has promise – and now, it has customers.
Austin, Texas-based ReVolt Motors scored its first win with specialist carrier Page Trucking, who’s rolling the dice on five of the Peterbilt 579-based hybrid big rigs — with another order for 15 more of the modified Petes waiting in the wings if the initial five work out.
The deal will see ReVolt’s “dual-power system” put to the test in real-world conditions, pairing its e-axles’ battery-electric torque with up to 1,200 miles of diesel-extended range.
ReVolt Motors team
The ReVolt team starts off with a Peterbilt, then removes the transmission and drive axle, replacing them with a large genhead and batteries. As the big Pete’s diesel engine runs (that’s right, kids – the engine stays in place), it creates electrical energy that’s stored in the trucks’ batteries. Those electrons then flow to the truck’s 670 hp e-axles, putting down a massive, 3500 lb-ft of Earth-moving torque to the ground at 0 rpm.
The result is an electrically-driven semi truck that works like a big BMW i3 or other EREV, and packs enough battery capacity to operate as a ZEV (sorry, ZET) in ports and urban clean zones. And, more importantly, allows over-the-road drivers to hotel for up to 34 hours without idling the engine or requiring a grid connection.
That ability to “hotel” in the cab is incredibly important, especially as the national shortage of semi truck parking continues to worsen and the number of goods shipped across America’s roads continues to increase.
And, because the ReVolt trucks can hotel without the noise and emissions of diesel or the loss of range of pure electric, they can immediately “plug in” to existing long-haul routes without the need to wait for a commercial truck charging infrastructure to materialize.
“Drivers should not have to choose between losing their longtime routes because of changing regulatory environments or losing the truck in which they have already made significant investments,” explains Gus Gardner, ReVolt founder and CEO. “American truckers want their trucks to reflect their identity, and our retrofit technology allows them to continue driving the trucks they love while still making a living.”
If all of that sounds familiar, it’s probably because you’ve heard of Hyliion.
Hyliion electric semi truck
Before it changed its focus to develop Carnot-cycle generators and gensets, Austin-based Hyliion built a number of EREV Peterbilts using the then-new 15L Cummins diesel as a generator and employing the same sort of battery and e-axle-arrangement as ReVolt.
In addition to being located in the same town and employing the same idea in the same Peterbilt 579 tractor, ReVolt even employs some of the same key players as Hyliion: both the company’s CTO, Chandra Patil, and its Director of Engineering, Blake Witchie, previously worked at Hyliion’s truck works.
Still, Hyliion made their choice when they shut down their truck business. ReVolt seems to have picked up the ball – and their first customer is eager to run with it.
“Our industry is undergoing a major transition, and fleet owners need practical solutions that make financial sense while reducing our environmental impact,” said Dan Titus, CEO of Page Trucking. “ReVolt’s hybrid drivetrain lowers our fuel costs, providing our drivers with a powerful and efficient truck, all without the need for expensive charging infrastructure or worrying about state compliance mandates. The reduced emissions also enable our customers to reduce their Scope 2 emissions.”
Page Trucking has a fleet of approximately 500 trucks in service, serving the agriculture, hazardous materials, and bulk commodities industries throughout Texas. And, if ReVolt’s EREV semis live up to their promise, expect them to operate a lot more than 20 of ’em.
SOURCES | IMAGES: ReVolt; via Power Progress, TTNews.
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