Originally published at: https://wheelive.com/2021/02/24/usps-announces-a-replacement-contract-for-the-postal-fleet-doesnt-even-go-all-electric/
USPS announces a replacement contract for the postal flee
USPS today announced that it has awarded its postal fleet replacement contract, and the government agency has been disappointed that it is not going all-electric.
One of the first things Joe Biden did as president was to announce that the federal government is moving its entire fleet of vehicles to electric vehicles.
It was only a month ago, and that’s why the U.S. did it. Postal Service has revealed that it has awarded its latest contract to upgrade its fleet of 165,000 new vehicles, and we were pretty sure they were all-electric.
The contract was awarded to Oshkosh Defense, a defense contractor primarily known for the construction of military vehicles, and the USPS announced that some of the vehicles would have internal combustion engines and others would be battery-powered:
“Under the contract’s initial $482 million investment, Oshkosh Defense will finalize the production design of the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV) — a purpose-built, right-hand-drive vehicle for mail and package delivery — and will assemble 50,000 to 165,000 of them over 10 years. The vehicles will be equipped with either fuel-efficient internal combustion engines or battery electric powertrains and can be retrofitted to keep pace with advances in electric vehicle technologies. The initial investment includes plant tooling and build-out for the U.S. manufacturing facility where final vehicle assembly will occur.”
Louis DeJoy, the head of the USPS decision, was nominated by Donald Trump.
The decision has already been criticized by environmentalists and the electric vehicle movement.
The Executive Director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association, Joe Britton, released the following contract statement:
“U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is trying to lock our postal vehicle fleet into decades of carbon-intensive transportation. This directly conflicts with the Administration’s stated goals and is certain to see swift pushback from appropriators who have sought to drive USPS vehicle electrification. Many have questioned whether DeJoy has actually had USPS’ best interests in mind, but this reckless misstep is a new low. We encourage others to join us in speaking out about this decision and call on Congress to act on what is a clear invitation from DeJoy to reverse his decision.”
Several people are calling on Congress and Biden to intervene and revoke the decision.
For more news and updates, visit WHEELive.