30 US cities shopping for US$10b of electric vehicles in defiance of Trump

New York

DOZENS of US cities are willing to buy US$10 billion of electric cars and trucks to show sceptical carmakers that there is demand for low-emission vehicles, even as President Donald Trump seeks to review pollution standards which the industry opposes.

Thirty cities including New York and Chicago jointly asked carmakers for the cost and feasibility of providing 114,000 electric vehicles, including police cruisers, street sweepers and trash haulers, said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who is coordinating the effort. That would be comparable to about 72 per cent of total US plug-in sales last year.