Thirty US cities have asked the auto industry about the possibility of buying 114,000 electric vehicles – including police cars, rubbish trucks and street sweepers – for about $10bn (about £8.2bn) to help cut carbon emissions from the transport sector.

The move would fly in the face of the Trump administration, which is expected to cut or scrap air pollution regulations, and also have a significant impact on the demand for electric cars.

It is being led by Los Angeles and includes other major cities such as New York, Chicago and Seattle, where mayors believe they must now lead the fight against climate change, given Donald Trump's stance on the issue.

Matt Petersen, Los Angeles’s chief sustainability officer, told news service Bloomberg in an email: “No matter what President Trump does or what happens in Washington, cities will continue leading the way on tackling climate change.”

Daniel Zarrilli, New York City’s senior director of climate policy and programmes, said: “Now more than ever there is a need for cities’ leadership on climate.

“We really want to send a message that there is a growing market for electric vehicles -- regardless of what is happening in DC.”

And Chris Bast, Seattle’s climate and transportation policy adviser, added that the message to the car industry was: “If you build it, we will buy it.”

Colin McKerracher, an analyst with Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said such a large order for electric vehicles could move the market.

The total sales of plug-in electric vehicles in the US last year amounted to 160,000. Even though the cities order would be spread over a number of years, it would provide carmakers with a steady supply of new business.

“I wouldn’t underestimate this,” Mr McKerracher said. “What automakers really want in investing in electrification, whether that’s for passenger vehicles or commercial-use vehicles, is certainty.”

10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke – filled with the carbon that is driving climate change – drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. “Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals,” says the photographer. “Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow.” Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a “public health emergency”. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan

However Wade Newton, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, pointed out that electric vehicles were bit players in the market at the moment.

“Combined, those models were all outsold by a single model of pickup truck,” he said.

The order, if it materialises, would be the first major sign that local and regional government in the US is serious about tackling climate change despite Mr Trump's presence in the White House.