The following letter was sent to Gov. Matt Meyer with a copy provided to the Cape Gazette for publication.
Delaware’s Division of Motor Vehicles’ new fee on electric vehicles, or what it terms alternative fuel vehicles, is an unjust and misdirected fee on owners who have purchased a means of transportation that supports reducing climate change, reduces carbon dioxide pollution and eliminates the use of destructive disposable fluids such as anti-freeze and motor oil.
The DMV should increase the price of gas and tax the internal combustion-driven vehicles that produce hydrocarbons that pollute the air we breathe and which are proven to be responsible for contributing to climate change. When I purchased my EV nearly 10 years ago, people gave me the thumbs up when they saw this car on the road or when I parked it on the street. I now have close to 100,000 miles on the odometer, and I still can get 340 miles on a full charge without using a single ounce of gas.
Consider this: Delaware has about 980,000 registered vehicles. This includes 450,000 passenger cars, 300,000 SUVs, 200,000 pickup trucks and 30,000 other vehicles. Today, EVs represent only 4% of private cars in America, and only about 3,300 EVs are registered in Delaware, about 0.3%, which is among the lowest EV ownership percentage rates in the country. I believe a tax like this is discriminatory and wrongheaded.
I believe EV owners should file a class-action suit against the DMV and urge the agency to increase the price of foul gasoline. Tax the culprit and support protecting the environment.
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