USPS expects to only buy electric delivery vehicles starting in 2026

More than 66,000 electric vehicles are expected to be purchased by the United States Postal Service by the end of the year. In February, the USPS said it would purchase 5,000 fully electric versions of the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle, with gas-powered trucks accounting for the rest. The agency increased the proportion of EV in the order after resistance from the USPS.

The postal service wants to buy at least 60,000 Next Generation Delivery Vehicles by 2028 and at least 75% of them will be electric. The USPS expects that all of theNGDV acquisitions will be electric in the future. The delivery routes that theNGDVs are expected to operate on are still being worked out. The agency plans to buy another 21,000 off-the-shelf EV through the end of the century.

The USPS wants to replace its aging, inefficient and not-as-safe fleet of more than 220,000 vehicles by the end of the next decade. Around 40,000 gas-powered models are expected to be bought by the agency over the next six years. The USPS said in a statement that it would continue to explore the feasibility of fully electricizing the fleet. It thinks there will be more EV availability in the future.

The agency expects to spend over $9 billion on these vehicle purchases and related infrastructure, $3 billion of which is from inflation reduction act funding Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said that the $3 billion provided by Congress has reduced the risk associated with the implementation of a nationwide infrastructure needed toelectrify our delivery fleet.