Currently, there are two bills – one in the House and one in the Senate – that are aiming to end the federal EV tax credit for both consumers and businesses, both of which would have an impact on Ford and its ability to sell such models. However, The Blue Oval is also dealing with the possibility that the Trump administration might also cancel the contract between the United States Postal Service (USPS) and its Next-Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDV), which utilize a variety of components from Ford itself. Now, that possibility is growing a bit stronger.
According to the Washington Post, there’s a provision in the current version of Trump’s “big beautiful bill” that would result in the General Services Administration taking possession of the 7,200 USPS all-electric delivery vehicles – which include some NGDVs and some Ford E-Transit vans – after which it would auction those vehicles off. The same is true of the charging equipment that has already been purchased, as those items would also be sold to the highest bidder.
According to Senator Rand Paul, the provision “aims to cut unnecessary costs and focus USPS on delivering mail and not achieving the environmental initiatives pushed by the Biden Administration.” However, Peter Pastre, USPS vice president for government relations and public policy, argues that “the funds realized by auctioning the vehicles and infrastructure would be negligible. Much of infrastructure is literally buried under parking lots, and there is no market for used charging equipment.”
Thus far, both Ford and Oshkosh have struggled to provide enough EV vans to USPS, as the Post Office has only received a fraction of what it has ordered, which – at least as it pertains to the E-Transit – partially stems from strong demand for that particular model. However, even if the Trump administration succeeds in its mission to rid USPS of its all-electric fleet, Oshkosh previously stated that it could easily pivot and build more gas-powered NGDV models, at least.
Comment
Postal delivery is the poster child for EVs. The oil industry’s $1B bribe claims yet another “Win”. The “Big Beautiful Bill” is looking uglier and uglier.