Postmaster General Says Half of First Batch of New Vehicles Could Be EVs

Despite selecting vehicle maker Oshkosh Defense for the $6 billion contract to build the newest generation USPS vehicle, of which most will be gasoline-powered, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy stated at a House appropriations subcommittee on March 11 that he sees the service moving quickly to electric power if it has the proper funding. 

It was initially reported only 10% of the new vehicles being built would be fully-electric. However, during the subcommitte meeting, DeJoy said that would just be a starting point. As many as 50% of the first full set of vehicles ordered may be electric vehicles (EVs).

"We need trucks. The 10% was getting us in the position to engage in electrification of our fleet. We have a year to decide what the actual volume is. Ten percent was about $500 million, which we don't have, to kick off the engineering and plant building for an electric fleet. These drivetrains are convertible, so if we were able to get the funding, we would be able to maybe go 50% electric. But there's a a huge infrastructure cost associated with that," he said. 

This scrutiny comes after Representatives Marcy Kaptur (D), Jared Huffman (D), and Tim Ryan (D) urged a halt pending an investigation into whether there was any political influence in awarding the current contract to Oshkosh and if it is consistent with President Joe Biden’s executive order to electrify the federal fleet.

Originally posted on Government Fleet