EV plates (Illinois)

[HighZ]

When I got my Tesla in April, I had to get regular Illinois plates. Can I apply for EV plates mid cycle to take advantage of the two year $35 fee? Hopeful?

David, I would be curious if they were able to determine that you had an EV and you also received the letter forcing you to renew EL plates. If you originally registered with standard plates, maybe you can keep them and pay the lower fee.

 

[daviddavid]

David, I would be curious if they were able to determine that you had an EV and you also received the letter forcing you to renew EL plates. If you originally registered with standard plates, maybe you can keep them and pay the lower fee.

Not sure how this will work. Want my prediction? Come April, I will probably be able to renew as is (lower rate). It will take the Secretary of State a year (or more) that I am driving an EV. Then the next time I renew, they will request more money. But who knows. It is Illinois!

 

[aponok]

The quote below is from 625 ILCS 5/3-805.
"In addition to the registration fees, the Secretary shall assess an additional $100 per year in lieu of the payment of motor fuel taxes."

So, not only is the electricity being used to charge the vehicles being taxed, there is an additional payment.

"Beginning January 1, 1990, the rate of tax imposed in this paragraph, including the tax on compressed natural gas, shall be 19 cents per gallon." (35 ILCS 505/2)

To pay $100 in motor fuel tax would require buying 526 gallons of fuel (100/0.19). For a Model S that gets 90 MPGe, that would require driving 47,368 miles annually!

I'm hopeful there is a loophole that would allow a person to get something other than the generic passenger plates instead. I would prefer to get Share the Road plates and have the extra $22 go toward a non profit.

 

[aponok]

An update the previous post.
The gasoline fuel tax doubled in July 2019, so the values above need to be halved.
It would be like buying 263 gallons of fuel (100/0.38) and needing to drive 23,684 miles.
Still excessive.

 

[aponok]

(Text of Section from P.A. 101-493) "(4.5) beginning on July 1, 2019, the costs of the Environmental Protection Agency for the administration of the Vehicle Emissions Inspection Law of 2005 shall be paid, subject to appropriation, from the Motor Fuel Tax Fund into the Vehicle Inspection Fund"

"Through the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) test, vehicle emissions inspections in Illinois identify malfunctioning emission control systems that often result in vehicles exceeding federal emission standards. Requiring repairs on such vehicles helps clean the air while improving the vehicle's performance and fuel economy." taken from the IL EPA website

A vehicle with zero tailpipe emissions is subsidizing the cost of inspecting vehicles with tail pipes. It would have been nice if our elected representatives could have pushed back on the "EV tax" since these vehicles won't require testing (a.k.a. saving the state money).

 

[MNDZA]

I have a specialty plate on my car and have never used the EL plate that was sent to me in the mail when I bought the car. The specialty plate doesn't expire until later next year. I received a letter regarding the new EV plate law and a sticker to extend the current EL plate (that I've never used) through January I believe. I called the number on the letter and the person on the phone didn't really seem to have all the answers. He did remove the EL plate from the system for me and confirmed that the specialty plate is active on my vehicle. But he also said that I will need to go to the DMV and request new EL plates to replace my specialty plates because I'm not supposed to be able to use them anymore. He didn't sound 100% confident in the explanation so I'm not sure what to do. We've had these specialty plates for years and would hate to lose them for this stupid law change. And I also asked if they have vanity or personalized EL plates, but he said they probably won't have them for several years.
What they should do, and could easily do, is just have a designation in their system if your car is electric or not. If it is, then charge you an extra $100 when you renew whatever plate you have. Why make everyone give up their plates? Especially the specialty plates that give donations to certain groups. I'm thinking to keep the specialty plates on and see what happens.

 

[aponok]

Welcome to the club MNDZA.
A large amount of my frustration is from the hassle over seven years ago when I tried to get EV plates originally. It was for a different vehicle then (Mitsubishi i-MiEV), but trying to get in contact with anyone with knowledge of EV plates was difficult. But now that the annual price is $251 instead of $17.50, it would appear the powers that be have a full understanding of electric cars. In 2012, there was even a rebate program for purchasers of new electric vehicles. That has since disappeared.

Wow, the pendulum has swung from encouraging EV ownership to penalizing owners.
Here is an interesting document bout the state's EV goals years ago. https://www2.illinois.gov/dceo/AboutDCEO/ReportsRequiredByStatute/20111230EVACFinalReport.pdf