confidence and preclude the need to rent a longer-range vehicle on days when driving
longer distances is necessary. Eight states provide funding or other financial incentives
for the installation of publicly available chargers.
DISINCENTIVES
Annual fee
In recent years, some states have begun to charge electric vehicle drivers an annual
fee to make up for lost gasoline tax revenue. States that have enacted such legislation
in 2013 include Nebraska ($75 per vehicle), Virginia ($64) and Washington ($100, for
BEVs but not PHEVs). Similar fees are effective from 2014 onward in Colorado ($50) and
North Carolina ($100) and are not considered in this analysis.
SUMMARY OF INCENTIVES
As shown in Table 1, the direct incentives that we have covered in this analysis are
subsidies, license tax/fee reductions, annual electric vehicle fees, EVSE financing, free
electricity offered at public Level 2 chargers and emissions testing exemptions, and
the indirect incentives are high-occupancy vehicle lane access, emissions testing time
savings and public charger availability. All incentives except public charger availability
apply to both BEVs and PHEVs. As PHEVs may refuel at conventional gasoline stations,
it is assumed that PHEV drivers do not experience range anxiety. Some incentives may
give a different level of benefits to BEVs versus PHEVs, for example, a higher subsidy
for BEVs than PHEVs in some states. These cases are taken into account and treated
individually in the analysis.