The Postal Service has placed a first order for 50,000 next-generation delivery vehicles (NGDVs) with Oshkosh Defense for $2.98 billion.
The order will include a minimum of 10,019 battery electric vehicles, an increase from the 5,000 electric vehicles that were initially planned.
An improving financial and operational outlook under the Delivering for America plan has made that possible, according to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
“We are pleased to be moving forward with this much-needed investment in our fleet,” DeJoy said, adding that this order comes after extensive strategic evaluations.
“We have determined that increasing our initial electric vehicle purchase from 5,000 to 10,019 makes good sense from an operational and financial perspective,” he said.
The postmaster general also applauded the NGDV’s safety features.
“Many of our 190,000 delivery vehicles on the road are more than 30 years old and lack basic safety features that are standard in most vehicles today,” he said.
“The safety of the men and women of the Postal Service is our number one priority, and they have waited long enough for the NGDV. We owe it to our carriers and the communities we serve to provide safer, more efficient vehicles to fulfill our universal service obligation to deliver to 161 million addresses in all climates and topographies six days per week.”
The Postal Service’s March 24 news release has more information.
