Question: I saw a hybrid van the other day with an electric vehicle license plate. Is this legal and if so, does that mean that all hybrids are considered electric cars?
Q: Can you please list what “perks” we still have for EVs? I thought parking at meters was free but I got a ticket!
Answer: Electric cars are a small but growing segment of Hawaii’s transportation sector as the state strives to reach clean-energy goals. Kokua Line gets a lot of questions about them, indicating that some laws and policies are not well understood.
To qualify for an electric vehicle license plate, state law requires that the vehicle be able to draw electricity from an external source (commonly known as “plug in”) and have a minimum battery storage capacity of 4 kilowatt hours, or that it be powered by a fuel cell that combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity.
These definitions therefore include battery electric vehicles (BEVs), fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), but not plain hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). While plug-in hybrids and plain hybrids both run on gas or electricity, plain hybrids can’t go far before the gas engine kicks in. And they generate their own limited electricity, mainly by using the brakes; there’s no plug for external recharging.
As the industry evolved, some hybrids that didn’t originally have plugs added them in newer model years. So, for example, a Toyota Prius without a plug would not qualify for a Hawaii EV plate, but a Toyota Prius Prime with a plug would.
So, to answer the first question: If you saw a plug-in hybrid van, such as a Chrysler Pacifica, then, yes, the EV plate would be legal. But no, that doesn’t mean all hybrids are considered electric vehicles for purposes of obtaining an EV plate.
To answer other readers, this also explains why EV plates may appear on vehicles with exhaust pipes: They’re plug-in hybrids.
As for perks, yes, they include free parking at county and state parking lots and meters, but the waiver at the meters is good only for two-and-half hours or the maximum amount of time the meter allows, whichever is longer; you can be ticketed after that. To answer other readers, yes, the parking freebie does apply at Oahu’s Blaisdell Center and Chinatown municipal lots, two locations we’re often asked about; write your name and EV license plate number on your fee stub and present it upon exit.
Also, vehicles with EV plates can travel in HOV lanes even with only one person.
All these benefits — including 30 days free parking at state airports — are scheduled to expire on June 30, although advocates likely will try to extend them.
The state Department of Transportation would prefer that the airport parking benefit cease or be reduced, saying that EVs take up a disproportionate number of stalls at the Honolulu airport and deprive the state of more than $300,000 a month in parking fees there.
At the federal level, there’s a tax credit of up to $7,500 to promote the sale of plug-ins, but it’s phasing out for the most popular models, including Tesla.
Speaking of which, no, this automaker is not exempt from Hawaii’s law requiring license plates front and rear; readers continue to notice Teslas lacking front plates.
Maybe that’s because there are so many more of them on the road. Teslas account for nearly 60 percent of the 2,257 new electric vehicle or plug-in hybrids sold in Hawaii through the first nine months of this year, according to IHS Data, as appearing in Hawaii Auto Outlook. Three of the top five models sold were Teslas (see box), accounting for a total of 1,337 new vehicles sold.
Readers also ask about charging stations. Smartphone apps such as PlugShare and EV Stations Hawaii map a mix of free or fee-charging stations available to the public. EV owners who live in single-family homes generally charge overnight, using a standard 110 volt outlet in the garage or carport. The challenge has been for apartment and condominium dwellers who lack that easy access.
For more information:
>> Hawaii State Energy Office, 808ne.ws/hiev
>> Sustainable Transportation Coalition of Hawaii, stchawaii.org/
>> Hawaiian Electric Co. Inc., 808ne.ws/hecoev
>> Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association, hawaiiautodealer.com/
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
