Following criticism from the Biden administration and others, the US Postal Service said on Wednesday (July 20, 2022) that at least 40% of its new delivery vehicles will be electric, up from the 10% it had previously committed to.
The Postal Service will purchase 33,800 electric cars under the new proposal, 25,000 of which will come from Oshkosh Defense, which created an electric vehicle specifically for the Postal Service’s requirements. The other vehicles will be purchased “off the shelf,” meaning they aren’t purpose built for a single customer. Automakers like Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Rivian offer electric delivery vehicles, which are in high demand. Interest in electric vehicles has increased amid high fuel prices.
According to Postal Service spokesman Sue Brennan, the new Postal Service trucks are anticipated to start running routes late next year.
Once this purchase goes through, we’ll be stuck with more than 100,000 new gas-guzzling vehicles on neighborhood streets, serving homes across our state and across the country, for the next 30 years.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta
The White House, the Environmental Protection Agency and US legislators, had criticized the Postal Service’s initial plans, originally confirmed in February. President Biden had called for half of vehicles sold by 2030 to be electric, and for government fleet vehicles to have zero tailpipe emissions.
The purchase of non-zero-emission vehicles by the Postal Service would be prohibited by legislation that has been proposed by four US senators. In order to prevent the acquisition of gas-powered cars, attorneys general from 16 states, the District of Columbia, and environmental organizations sued the Postal Service in April.
“Once this purchase goes through, we’ll be stuck with more than 100,000 new gas-guzzling vehicles on neighborhood streets, serving homes across our state and across the country, for the next 30 years,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at the time.
The Postal Service’s new electric vehicle from Oshkosh Defense includes many safety features that aren’t present in many of its current vehicles, including airbags. It will have more cargo space, which will come in handy as the Postal Service delivers more packages. The roof of the vehicle is tall enough to allow a mail carrier to stand in the back.
