The United States Postal Service revealed its plans to go fully electric by 2028, and this time, it is finally happening after securing $9.6 billion in funding from Congress for its modernization plans. The "Deliver for America" initiative will feature an electric vehicle fleet of 66,000 clean energy cars in total, with a mix of commercial and purpose-built EVs.
USPS is Finally Going the Fully Electric Route by 2028
(Photo : Unsplash/Joel Moysuh)
The United States Postal Service is finally coming through with its plans for an electric mail truck fleet, one that would start its acquisitions by 2026 and complete two years later.
The USPS announced via a news release that it is finally going the fully electric route that will begin its initial clean energy purchases by 2026 with an EV fleet to fulfill its deliveries. The agency plans to complete this transition to clean energy by 2028, with as many as 66,000 electric mail trucks to deliver packages nationwide.
According to the USPS, the agency will focus on its "purpose-built" Next-Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDV), with a minimum of 60,000, of which 45,000 will be battery electric vehicles (BEV). The agency claims that all of its 2026 acquisitions will be 100 percent fully electric.
Additionally, 21,000 EVs will be purchased from commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) to complete its massive fleet by 2028.
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'Deliver for America' Gets Congress Funding
(Photo : USPS)
The agency is getting as much as $9.6 billion for its "Deliver for America" initiative, finally getting its needed funding for its modernization plans from Congress. It includes $3 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act.
According to Engadget, there are a total of 106,000 delivery vehicles for the agency to buy. by 2028 to replace its aging fleet.
USPS's Previous Plans for EVs
The Postal Service initially enlightened the country with its plans to go electric in 2021, initially choosing Oshkosh Defense to manufacture its clean energy car fleet. The agency initially claimed that it will arrive in two years, and its electric mail trucks would be available by then, complete with much modern technology to better its deliveries all over the country.
However, over a year later, USPS seems to have stopped its plans to do so, mainly because it did not get enough funding from Congress.
Instead, its modernization plans bought gas-powered mail trucks to update its fleet instead of the initially planned commission work from Oshkosh Defense, one which shocked the country. USPS bought these ICE vehicles despite President Joe Biden asking the agency to go electric, saying that it will do so in the future should it get the right funding.
Now, it seems like their plans to go electric received enough funding and the proper backing to push forth better modernization plans, one that includes clean energy vehicles for their needs. The electric mobility push will start by 2026 and be complete by 2028, and it will soon roll out with a clean energy fleet with as many as 66,000 nationwide.
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