USPS Plans for Electric Delivery Vehicles

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy defended plans to buy a rising number of electric delivery vehicles (EVs) and stated he would not return funding earmarked for zero-emission models unless Congress legislates it.

In 2023, Congress allocated $3 billion to USPS as part of a $430 billion climate bill to purchase EVs and charging infrastructure, including $1.2 billion designated for electric vehicles. The Postal Service plans to acquire approximately 66,000 electric vehicles by 2028.

During a U.S. House of Representatives hearing on Tuesday, DeJoy emphasized that the EV purchasing strategy is sound business for USPS.

Last week, Reuters reported that Donald Trump's transition team is considering canceling USPS contracts to electrify its delivery fleet as part of broader executive orders on electric vehicles, based on sources familiar with the plans.

Sources indicated that Trump's team is exploring how to reverse the Postal Service's multibillion-dollar contracts, including those with Oshkosh (NYSE:OSK) for next-generation delivery vehicles and Ford (NYSE:F).

Representative William Timmons, a South Carolina Republican whose district includes the Oshkosh plant, suggested USPS should revert to its previous plan of purchasing 90% gas-powered vehicles, without canceling the contracts. He said, "There's no reason that we should spend a billion plus more dollars to impose a green new deal mandate on the Post Office. Congress is about to fix it. I look forward to working with the incoming Trump administration to right this ship."

DeJoy responded that any changes would require legislation.

Oshkosh is slated to deliver about 45,000 next-generation electric vehicles and 21,000 off-the-shelf EVs, which include 9,250 Ford E-Transit EVs. DeJoy noted USPS purchased 28,000 vehicles this year, with 22,000 of them being gas-powered. He indicated that acquisitions in 2025 would be around a "50-50" split between EVs and gas-powered vehicles, with all next-generation delivery vehicles expected to be electric starting in 2026.

DeJoy mentioned that USPS is paying about $20,000 more for Oshkosh's next-generation delivery EVs and approximately $10,000 more for off-the-shelf EVs compared to gas-powered models.

In 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order aiming for 50% of all new passenger cars and light trucks to be zero-emission vehicles by 2030, and that light-duty government vehicle acquisitions must be emission-free by 2027. However, these rules do not apply to the Postal Service, which operates as an independent federal agency.

USPS projected it would spend $9.6 billion on vehicle acquisitions through 2028.