Guide to Electric Vehicles in Texas

Renting a car in The Lone Star State and want to drive green? Let’s discover electric car laws, rebates, grants and much more for using EVs in Texas. We’ll peek at how many of the carbon-friendly vehicles are on the road, what incentives there are for driving them, licensing considerations and the current infrastructure in place.

The state of Texas is one of the most prominent in terms of EV adoption. The numbers are huge and rising. After all, it is a big state with a huge population. Be in the know before heading out there and drive your electric rental in comfort..

Jump straight to the section:

• How Many EVs Are There in Texas?
• Are There Incentives for Electric Cars in Texas?
• EV registration, licensing, and fees in Texas
• Texas EV charging network

How Many EVs Are There in Texas?

Along with California and Florida, electric car use in Texas is hugely popular. There are over 200,000 electric cars registered here. In terms of numbers, this figure is in a completely different ballpark to the likes of Alabama, which has a mere 8,730. There’s around 30 million people living here, which plays into the high numbers – more people inevitably yields higher percentages of EVs purchased. Despite year-on-year growth, this still only accounts for just over 5% of total car registrations in the state. People are still buying gasoline fuelled engines more, EV sales haven’t quite reached the pinnacle to be a challenger in the car market.

In terms of alignment with national and global initiatives, Texas is quite laissez-faire about its involvement with the likes of the ZEV program – there’s no current involvement with this.

Overview of current electric car ownership in Texas, including:

• Total number of EV registrations – 218,889
• Percent of total vehicle registrations in state – 5.33%
•  Percent of total US EV registrations - 5.56%
• YOY growth of ownership in recent years - +55.01%
• Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) program – Not currently

Nevertheless, there’s a lot to entice customers to drive EVs in this state. Let’s have a look at some of the inviting offers in place.

Are There Incentives for Electric Cars in Texas?

There are electric car grants, incentives and rebates galore in Texas for EV ownership. Seven such programs exist throughout the state, where customers get some money back just for owning one.

If you choose to install a home charger, you’re also re-imbursed. Also, it’s cheaper to charge at home, almost three times less. There’s free parking too in public areas throughout cities in the state. This isn’t every street in every town, but if you’re driving your Hertz EV rental and you happen to come across one – why not make the most of it.

These may include:

• Tax credits/rebates – There’s a few different incentives in the state, including the Clean Vehicle and Infrastructure Grants, Clean Fleet Grants, Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Grants, Governmental Fleet Grants, Electric Vehicle (EV) and Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) Weight Exemption, Electric Vehicle Emissions Inspection Exemption.
• Rebates or offers on home charging station purchase/installation – 50% of costs covered up to $500 of the cost of Level 2 EV home charging stations by UCS.
• Charging rate discounts - $250 credit to people charging their EVs at home (by the CPS Energy FlexEV Smart Rewards program).
• Driving perks, e.g., free parking/charging – Some free parking available, for example San Antonio offers this for EV drivers in downtown parking spots.

EV registration, licensing, and fees in Texas

The prices involved with continuing to own an EV are high, very high in fact compared to the likes of Hawaii which charges just $50. Buying one for the first time will set you back 400 bucks, and $200 per year after that. This came about after a recent statewide price hike.

Here, you might cover details on:

• Registration and licensing fees - $400 for new vehicles, $200 to renew for existing ones
• Insurance considerations - $2,152 to $4,725

Texas EV charging network

There’s around 3,000 charging stations for electric cars in Texas. This consists of just over 1,000 of them being in Houston, Dallas with 500, and Austin having close to 1,500. Almost half of the ones in Dallas are free to use for charging your electric vehicle. It costs on average around $10 for a full at home charge, and double that amount at roughly $20 to charge at public stations.

Despite Texas being in a good position structurally, things are set to get even better. With over $400 million pumped into the plans by Congress’ Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, it means The Texas Department of Transportation can get under way with providing more options for EV enthusiasts to charge their rides.

Overview of the current charging network in the state:

• Total number of charging stations in this state – approx. 3,000
• Typical costs of use - $0.133 per kWh for home charging and $0.3 per kWh for public charging
• Plans to invest/expand the charging network – A $400 million investment plan to develop the infrastructure across the state.

The present is bright, the future is even brighter as investments light the way for increased electric car ownership in Texas. This is in line with nationwide and global efforts to cut carbon emissions. As the planet sees record high temperatures, you can do your part by driving an EV in the Lone Star State. You’re given cash for installing chargers at home, as well a free charging in some places. Expect to see EV ownership make up more of a percentage of the total car sales in the near future.

Why not rent one for your next outing to the state for business or pleasure? Work trip? Hop in a smooth and elegant Tesla ride and glide across the state’s freeways. Fancy a road trip? Drive across the southern state with a peace of mind knowing you’re not emitting those nasty emissions into the earth’s atmosphere.