The Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance, led by Ceres, is a collaborative group of companies focused on accelerating the transition to electric vehicles (EVs). It supports companies in making and achieving bold commitments to fleet electrification. The Alliance also loosely aggregates corporate demand for EVs to expand the business case for production of a more diverse array of EV models.

Our vision 

A vehicle market where light-, medium-, and heavy-duty EV models are available to meet all commercial and vocational needs, are accessible to all companies, and are cost competitive with traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. 

How we get there

Companies own, operate or manage a significant portion of vehicles on the road and have the purchasing power to leverage their collective demand for low- and zero-emission vehicles to drive changes throughout the global auto market. This aggregated demand also ensures the availability of a broad range of low-cost EV models.

Members

ADT Corporation
Amazon.com Inc.
Asplundh Tree Expert Company
AT&T, Inc.
Best Buy Co. Inc.
CBRE Group, Inc
Clif Bar & Company
Consumers Energy
DHL International GmbH
Edison International
Element Fleet Management Corp
Exelon Corporation
Ferguson Enterprises Inc
Genentech Inc
Heritage Environmental Services
Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.
IKEA USA
JLL
LeasePlan
Lime
Lyft
Merchants Fleet
National Grid plc
Otis Elevator Co
Schindler Elevator Corporation
Siemens
Sonic Healthcare Usa Inc
States Logistics
T-Mobile US Inc
TK Elevator
Uber Technologies Inc.
United Natural Foods Inc
Verizon Communications Inc.

Why electrify

EVs present significant benefits to companies--including reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, cost savings on fuel and maintenance, freedom from reliance on volatile oil and gas prices, improved passenger safety, enhanced company reputation, and improved workforce recruitment and retention. The transportation sector is currently the largest and fastest growing GHG-emitting sector in the U.S. economy, and transportation decarbonization is critical to addressing climate change in the U.S. and globally. For businesses, particularly those with large vehicle fleets, transitioning from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles is essential for long-term success in the 21st century. 

Why join the Alliance

The Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance helps companies chart a course towards a successful transition of their transportation and logistics fleets to EVs. Alliance members collaborate to identify challenges and potential solutions, and to leverage aggregate corporate demand and market influence to expand:

✔Production of new and increased volumes of EV models,
✔EV market growth and economies of scale,
✔Adoption of supportive policies and the removal of policy barriers, and
✔Peer-to-peer learning with regard to industry best practices. 

Membership requirements 

To join the Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance led by Ceres, companies must: 

  • Have or be actively in the process of developing ambitious and measurable fleet-wide electrification and/or greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goals in line with climate science 
  • Have a significant U.S. operational presence 
  • Operate a minimum of 500 on-road vehicles in the U.S. (if primarily operating class 5 through 8 medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, the minimum vehicle requirement is reduced to 50 on-road vehicles) 
  • Have a minimum annual revenue of $100 million 

Please contact Brandon Jones ([email protected]) with any questions about your company's eligibility for membership. 

The principles

The Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance Principles enable EV stakeholders, including auto and truck manufacturers, suppliers, utilities, policymakers and regulators to understand what companies with robust on-road vehicle fleets in the U.S. are looking for in order to achieve their bold clean transportation goals. 

They outline criteria that would dramatically support businesses in electrifying their on-road transportation and logistics fleets and networks.

It is crucial that the U.S. auto and truck market offer a wide variety of ZEV model options from class 1 to class 8 vehicles in order to meet the needs of all fleet and shared use cases (including minimum electric range requirements), and make these models available across all geographies of the United States. New models should be of similar quality as current internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. We support policies that promote the availability and sales of light-, medium- and heavy-duty ZEVs and facilitate their use throughout the country. As we transition to electrification of our fleets, we also support more near-zero emission and efficient ICE vehicles in order to accelerate decarbonization of the transportation sector, reduce pollution, and spur additional cost savings.

We support the development and implementation of programs and policies that provide access to sufficiently high-powered and cost-effective charging for our fleets. For example, utilities should offer options for cost-effective, time-variable rates to support a variety of fleet charging patterns and preferences based on use case. Rates should be designed to incentivize charging when electricity is economical and when clean energy is available.

To enable vehicle procurement planning, we require greater transparency on new model release timing and vehicle delivery timeframes from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance members understand that ZEVs - particularly battery electric vehicles - offer significant operational cost savings, including lower fuel and maintenance costs, and that these savings often lead to positive returns on investment compared to ICE models. We also understand that, at this point, ZEVs are on average more expensive upfront compared to ICE vehicle models. As a result, we support state and federal incentives, tax credits, rebates, favorable financing tools, discounts for procurement of fleet vehicles, and non-financial benefits that incentivize electric miles and reduce the climate and environmental burden on frontline communities. Eventually, we expect our aggregate demand for EV models, as well as the growing demand from peers, public fleets, and consumers, will drive OEMs to increase ZEV production, allowing them to take advantage of economies of scale, and pass the cost savings down to customers.

EVs will both increase the demands on our electricity grid and offer robust opportunities for downward pressure on rates and a more flexible load. We support policies and programs that decarbonize the electricity system and ensure reliable access to clean, renewable energy resources to charge our vehicles. This will ensure that increased EV deployment supports the transition away from power generation that contributes to climate change and air pollution, both of which have a disproportionately negative effect on low-income communities and communities of color.

To streamline planning for and installation of EV charging infrastructure (and the subsequent roll out of electric fleets), companies would benefit from receiving upfront information and self-service planning tools from utilities. These resources enable companies to accurately and comprehensively evaluate the costs and operational implications of an electric fleet. We also expect flexible contract terms and requirements to account for the diverse operations of fleets by industry and use case. In addition, we support the development of programs that drive customer investment in EVs and generate long-term savings for companies as well as benefits for utilities and all ratepayers.

We support programs and policies that increase the number of charging stations and supporting infrastructure. We encourage partnerships between public and private entities to maximize charging station build out, and support public access and private sector utilization with an emphasis on serving the needs of underserved communities. In addition, we support charging solutions and policies for home-garaged fleet vehicles, including those at multi-unit dwellings.

To enable widespread electrification of our transportation and logistics fleets (which are often highly geographically dispersed), we require streamlined charging standards that enable both customer-facing and systems management (data exchange between chargers and back-end systems, and between back-end systems) interoperability. In addition, open access payment standards that support fleet data collection and analysis enable our fleets to charge en route across geographies and networks when away from fleet depots.

To promote the health and quality of life of our employees, customers, and users, protect our communities, and meet our corporate sustainability goals, we support safe, efficient, equitable and low- to zero-emission public transit, as well as access to on-site workplace charging infrastructure. We also support the development of constructive approaches to advance local and regional transportation decarbonization, congestion reduction, and public health (e.g., robust pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, and shared micromobility).

Partners

The Climate Group (EV100) is an engagement partner on the Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance, led by Ceres, working in coordination to help companies make and achieve commitments on fleet electrification in North America.

The Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance is proud to be an implementing partner of the Drive Electric campaign, working to accelerate the transition to a clean transportation future.

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