Austria to let drivers of EVs go faster on highways

2019 Jaguar I-Pace S (Source: Green Car Reports) 

Austria is offering would-be electric-car owners (and current ones) a tempting incentive to go tailpipe-emissions-free: permission to drive faster than those with petrol, diesel or hybrid vehicles in certain conditions.

Drivers of EVs will be able to go faster during emissions-restricted times tied to high pollution levels. They will be allowed to go 81 mph (130 km/h), versus 62 mph (100 km/h), in a particular speed region that includes 273 miles (440 km) of roadways.

In 1996, a U.S. EPA memo cited data finding that just increasing the speed of fossil fuel transport from 55 mph (89 km/h) to 65 mph (105 km/h) would produce a net increase in vehicle pollution emissions of 20.7 percent more carbon monoxide and 1.3 percent more nitrogen oxides (as well as a big increase in carbon dioxide emissions).

The new policy also encourages cities and municipalities to provide free parking to electric vehicles. The move is in accord with the EU’s 2030 climate targets and the Paris Climate Agreement, with aims to cut Austria’s transport-sector carbon-dioxide emissions by 7.9 million U.S. tons.

Read more:
- Austria to let drivers of electric cars go faster. Green Car Reports, November 2, 2018.
- Electric vehicles get the green light to dive fast in Austria. Forbes, October 29, 2018.