Big corporate players launch new electric vehicle group

Amazon, AT&T and IKEA are a few members of a new corporate alliance launched Wednesday that's aimed at deploying more electric vehicles in corporate fleets.

Why it matters: The players in the Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance are big. And corporate fleets are seen as ripe for more EV adoption, given the advantages of centralized charging, bulk purchases and more.

• It's also the latest sign of the flowering of new alliances among companies, states and local governments at a time when the federal government is scaling back climate initiatives — including vehicle emissions rules.
• The new alliance is coordinated through Ceres, a nonprofit focused on sustainability.

What's next: It will "help member companies make and achieve bold commitments to fleet electrification, and is expected to boost the electric vehicle market by signaling the breadth and scale of corporate demand for electric vehicles," the announcement states.

• One audience is the auto industry — the group hopes to make the "business case" for the "production of a more diverse array of electric vehicle models."
• It's also designed to help coordinate and mobilize corporate advocacy for more supportive state and federal policy, organizers say.

Go deeper: Electric vehicles face an uncertain policy landscape in 2020