A fleet of new, gas-powered trucks is being purchased under a multi-billion-dollar contract. However, the EPA recommends that more vehicles be powered by electric motors.
The announcement of the next-generation USPS delivery vehicle was made almost a year ago, in February 2021. It is more than 30 years since the USPS fleet was last updated. However, President Biden’s move to electrify federal cars means that almost all new USPS trucks will be gas-powered.
According to The Washington Post, that’s what an official letter to USPS officials stated on February 2nd. A communication from The White House Council on Environmental Quality informed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, that Congress or Federal courts could order the USPS to change its course on its plans to spend more than $11 billion on Grumman Next Gen Delivery Vehicle (NGDV).
Although the platform can be used for either internal combustion or electric drivetrains it is only designed to support 90 percent of current gasoline-powered engines. It only requires an efficiency improvement in efficiency of 0.4 mpg when compared to current postal vehicles. The NGDV can achieve 8.6 miles per gallon with air conditioning on. This is far less than the industry standard of 12-14 mpg per The Washington Post.
Oshkosh Defense was contracted to build up to 150,000 new postal vehicles. However, the EPA isn’t satisfied with the details of the contract which may be in violation of law. The USPS is alleged to have contributed $480 million towards the contract prior to an environmental review. Concerning that review, the White House Council on Environmental Quality cited EPA’s “grave concern with the adequacy and timeliness of the USPS’s environmental review to date in connection to its acquisition of its NGDV.” The Washington Post stated that Postmaster General DeJoy claimed the USPS couldn’t afford additional electric models. It’s difficult to imagine how the USPS could avoid purchasing more EVs in order to meet the electrification mandate set forth by the Biden administration, considering that postal vehicles make up approximately one-third the federal fleet.