Why the cost of owning an electric vehicle will go up in Vermont next year

If you’re thinking about getting an electric car next year, you’ll have to pay a little more to register it in Vermont. As the Green Mountain State works to meet its climate and EV charger goals, a new fee will kick in January 1, 2025.

The fee on fully electric models will be $89 per year or $163 for a two-year registration. Hybrid registrations will cost you half of that. The fee is temporary until the state institutes a mileage-based fee structure, perhaps as early as July 2025.

It’s all part of the yearly transportation funding bill Gov. Phil Scott recently signed into law. The fees are aimed at making up for the dip in lost gas-tax revenues as more Vermonters move to EV and hybrid vehicles.

“I think everyone has to pay something so we can keep our roads in good order, we can replace bridges, the infrastructure is important,” he said. “Then we have to match all the funds that we’re contemplating over the next few years.”

More chargers are planned for Vermont as part of a federal program. The state’s goal is to build fast chargers every 50 miles along the two interstate highways.

But many folks aren’t sold on going electric. In a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, nearly half of American adults say it’s unlikely they will purchase an EV. According to News Nation, the biggest obstacles are high prices and a widespread lack of chargers