Ever since the United States Postal Office (USPS) awarded Oshkosh Defense a $6 billion dollar contract to replace the decades-old Grumman Long Life Vehicle (LLV) over a year ago, that decision has been mired in controversy. USPS has drawn the ire of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and various lawmakers that believe the Post Office should have gone with a greater mix of all-electric mail carriers, but it intends to move forward with the Ford-powered delivery vehicle, regardless. The Post Office placed its very first order for the next-gen carrier back in March, and now, it’s considering placing additional orders as well.
Currently, USPS plans on starting out with a 10 percent mix of EVs in its Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV) fleet, but that plan is also flexible to the point where that mix can be increased as funding becomes available. Out of the initial order of 50,000 vehicles, in fact, a total of 10,019 vehicles will consist of EVs, which equates to more than 20 percent of that total.
USPS notes that it deemed this expansion feasible for a number of reasons, though it must also update its facilities with the infrastructure required to support these new all-electric delivery vehicles. Additionally, the Post Office also intends to push the production of its new all-electric models to the front of the proverbial line, a move that’s made possible by the flexibility of its contract with Oshkosh. The very first NGDVs are expected to begin serving on delivery routes by late 2023.
“As I noted when we placed our initial NGDV delivery order, the Postal Service would continue to look for opportunities to further increase the electrification of our fleet in a responsible manner, as we continue to refine our operating strategy and implement the Delivering for America plan,” said Postmaster General and CEO Louis DeJoy. “A modernized network of delivery facilities provides us with such an opportunity. This is the right approach – operationally, financially, and environmentally.”
We’ll have more on the next-gen postal delivery vehicle soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for non-stop Ford news coverage.
Comments
It doesn’t get any uglier than this.
Until they raise the roof some more
Totally agree. We are having a big demand for gas and no refineries to cover for this demand and this is driving gas prices higher and higher. If the USPS demanded all BEV for high density cities, add some solar panels to save $ at charging, and use ice only on low density, large rural areas, then this would have being more rational.
That is one UGLY vehicle. USPS already had a vehicle in the Transit van.
Why couldn’t they use the transit connect its already built in rite hand drive I’m sure there is an electric vehicle built-in Europe ???