this post was submitted on 22 Sep 2023
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188
Countries Eye Weight Tax To Counter Public Safety Threat Of Extremely Heavy, Large EVs (www.techdirt.com)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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The United States is already a global leader in traffic-related fatalities, with a thirty-percent jump in the last decade. That’s in contrast to every other developed country, which saw a decline.

...

The electric Ford Lightning, for example, is a whopping 6,500 pounds. The Hummer EV is even heavier, clocking in at 9,000 pounds. Its battery alone weighs more than a Honda Civic. Experts have pointed out the significant safety ramifications of this transition for a while, but it’s still not clear that we’ve prepared the regulatory and policy landscape for such a transition.

Even if you don’t want a giant, extremely heavy EV, the tendency to purchase such vehicles creates an arm race for everyone interested in protecting their family on the road. That in turn causes a shift away from smaller EVs in a bid to feed the elemental materials needed for ever larger EV batteries.

...

“Norway, a pioneer in EV use, is considering a weight-based tax to steer buyers away from the fattest EVs (the Norwegian government recently eliminated EV purchase incentives). France already has one on SUVs. Buyers of new diesel and gasoline vehicles must pay a tax of €10 ($14.58) a kilo (2.2 pounds) above 1.8 tons. The weight threshold is to be reduced. EVs are exempt, but as those vehicles become heavier and more popular, it seems they will get swept into the weight-based tax net.”

A smattering of localities have tried to prepare for the threat. DC, for example, has imposed a creative vehicle registration fee schedule that has heavy EV truck and SUV owners paying higher registration fees than lighter EV sedans. But it’s an outlier.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

That's definitely true. It's also a concern for a lot of infrastructure like parking garages and bridges.

I suspect it's left out because the site focuses on tech, but I've seen a few articles looking at that this year. I think some states already do licenses based on weight, though arguably it's not enough.

Apparently, there's some loopholes that manufacturer's are using to justify increasing weights (eg. this ), and a similar taxbreak from some recent legislation for cars over 6k lbs.