USPS Moves Forward with Awards to Modernize and Electrify the Nation’s Largest Federal Fleet
The United States Postal Service announced in a recent press release that they have awarded contracts for 9,250 commercially available left-hand drive (LHD) battery electric vehicles (BEVs) as well as initial orders for more than 14,000 charging stations to be deployed at Postal Service facilities. These awards are consistent with the vehicle electrification strategy announced by USPS in December of 2022, accompanied by 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 (IRA) funds. The December 2022 plan announced intended acquisitions over the next five years of a 75 percent electric fleet of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDV). Acquisitions of NGDV after 2026 will be 100 percent electric. As part of the earliest stages of the delivery vehicle replacement plan, a contract for 9,250 commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) internal combustion engine vehicles will also be concurrently awarded to fill the urgent need for vehicles. The specific 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 mission-suitable as well as other business considerations. The Postal Service plans to begin building out its charging infrastructure across a minimum of 75 locations within the next 12 months, and thereafter to continue the infrastructure build out in the succeeding years at many additional facilities as a part of our delivery vehicle electrification strategy.
Electric Vehicle Awards
After a competitive search, the Postal Service awarded a contract to purchase a total of 9,250 Ford E-Transit Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs). Delivery of the vehicles is intended to commence in December of this year, assuming successful completion of the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement that we announced we would undertake in August 2022, and the related issuance of our Record of Decision pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. These domestically sourced vehicles will be 100 percent electric and are part of the 21,000 COTS vehicles included in the Postal Service’s vehicle acquisitionplan announced in December 2022. The Ford E-Transit BEVs are manufactured in Kansas City, MO.
Electric Vehicle Charging Station Awards
To support the charging for all the newly purchased electric vehicles, both the COTS vehicles announced today and future acquisitions including NGDV, the Postal Service awarded competitive contracts to three suppliers for the purchase of more than 14,000 charging stations to establish an initial and ongoing Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) inventory. This EVSE inventory is the charging station hardware and software needed to support EV charging at the facilities from which the delivery vehicles will operate.
