June 4, 2010
Chairman DelGobbo, Commissioner McDonald, Council members:
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak today on behalf of the Dept of Motor Vehicles. Today’s presentation will focus on DMV registration issues and best practices as related to the electric vehicle infrastructure.
At this time there are 21 Electric vehicles currently registered in the State of Connecticut. This includes 9 vehicles that were manufactured as electric, as well as 12 others that have been converted to electric after manufacturing. Vehicles that are converted to electric after manufacturing must undergo a vehicle inspection at a DMV location to ensure compliance with safety and inspection guidelines.
As a point of interest, a map has been created and included with this presentation to show the locations of the currently registered vehicles and their proximity to known electric charging stations in the State.
Incentives
There are several incentives to encourage CT consumers to buy & operate electric vehicles in Connecticut including an exemption from emissions testing, a reduced registration fee, an exemption from sales and use tax and other registration fees.
· Registration Fee
The registration fee for an electric vehicle is $18.00 per year (or $36.00 for two years). This is less than half the cost of a registration for a regular passenger vehicle which is $37.50 per year (or $75.00 for two years). (CGS 14-49f)
In addition, registrants of NON-electric vehicles pay additional registration fees that do not apply to electric vehicles, such as:
· Clean Air Act Fee
The Clean Air Act fee is a $10.00 fee that is charged to all vehicles when they are initially registered and upon each renewal of the registration thereafter. (CGS14-49b)
· Sales and Use Tax
Since January 1, 2008 any passenger motor vehicle, including an electric motor vehicle, that has a US EPA estimated city or highway mileage rating of at least 40 miles per gallon are exempt from the 6% Sales and Use tax requirement until July 1, 2010. (CGS Sec. 12-412(110))
· Emissions Testing and Emissions Fees
Electric vehicles are exempt from emissions testing and also exempt from the two year ($20) testing fee. (CGS 14-164c)
In addition, there is a $40 administrative fee that is charged on new vehicles (4 years old or less) that require emissions testing at the time of registration. Electric vehicles are exempt from this fee because they do not require emissions testing. (CGS 14-164c(k)3)
· Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fee
There is a $5 fee charged at the time of registration for each NEW motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less. Electric vehicles are exempt from this fee.
(CGS 22a-201c)
DMV Website (ct.gov/dmv)
The DMV is in the process of developing a webpage dedicated to explaining the requirements and consumer incentives for electric vehicles.