VicRoads has sent letters to EV drivers warning their vehicles could be taken off roads if they haven’t yet registered their odometer readings under Victoria’s new distance based EV road user charge.
A “final reminder” letter published by The Driven in a story scathing of the “EV tax” warns the EV owner involved their EV may be deregistered on August 4 if they fail to comply.
The letter states that “as the owner of zero or low emission vehicle (ZLEV), you are subject to the new distance-based road-user charge. You need to provide a declaration of your vehicle odometer reading”.
It adds a photo of the dashboard odometer “clearly showing the kilometres travelled” must be submitted to VicRoads.
The letter says this can be done by signing up for a myVicRoads account and submitting online or by taking the photo to a VicRoads customer service centre.
The ZLEV road user charge (RUC) was introduced by Victoria on July 1.
New South Wales intends introducing a similar RUC in 2027 or when EVs comprise 30% of the state’s new vehicle fleet, while South Australia has deferred its EV RUC introduction to July 2022.
The Northern Territory announced its EV strategy recently, earning praise from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) for encouraging EV uptake while adding it was pleased to see this as a potential first step in the territory adopting a broad-based RUC scheme which “could eliminate a myriad of inefficient taxes”.
The FCAI has been critical of Victoria’s ZLEV RUC move, suggesting any RUC should be nationally consistent while recognising the importance of EVs and other low emission vehicles.
“Let’s not kill EVs in their infancy,” FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said in November last year.
New Zealand extended its EV RUC exemption until March 31, 2024.
VicRoads suggests visiting its website for more information.
