The Postal Service has awarded contracts for 9,250 left-hand drive battery electric vehicles, as well as orders for more than 14,000 charging stations to be deployed at USPS facilities.
These awards are part of the vehicle electrification strategy that was announced in December by USPS leaders and senior White House officials.
Overall, the Postal Service’s total investment in vehicles is expected to reach $9.6 billion, including $3 billion from Inflation Reduction Act funds.
Under the plan announced in December, USPS intends to acquire a next-generation delivery vehicle fleet during the next few years that is 75 percent electric. After 2026, 100 percent of next-generation delivery vehicle acquisitions will be electric.
As part of the earliest stages of the delivery vehicle replacement plan, a contract for 9,250 commercial-off-the-shelf internal combustion engine vehicles will be awarded to fill an urgent need.
These vehicles, awarded under a competitive contract, will be Ford E-Transit battery electric vehicles. Delivery of the vehicles is intended to begin in December, assuming successful completion of a supplemental environmental impact statement that USPS announced last year.
The locations for deployment of the vehicles and infrastructure have not yet been finalized and will depend on route characteristics, including whether a left-hand drive vehicle is suitable, as well as other business considerations.
The Postal Service plans to begin building its charging stations in at least 75 locations within the next 12 months. Charging stations will then be built at additional locations as part of the vehicle electrification strategy.
“We are moving forward with our plans to simultaneously improve our service, reduce our cost, grow our revenue and improve the working environment for our employees. Electrification of our vehicle fleet is now an important component of these initiatives,” said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
“We have developed a strategy that mitigates both cost and risk of deployment — which enables execution on this initiative to begin now. I again want to thank the administration officials and members of Congress who have assisted us in this initiative. Each has shown genuine understanding that our movement toward electrification must be thoughtful and deliberate, must appropriately manage risk and must be consistent with our primary delivery mission for the American people.”
The Postal Service’s Feb. 28 news release has additional information.
