USPS is going electric—making one of the largest electric fleets in the U.S.
Key Details
- The United States Postal Service (USPS) is adding 66,000 electric vehicles (EVs) to its delivery service by 2028.
- Total vehicle investment is expected to reach $9.6 billion, including $3 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act.
- USPS says it will continue to look into the feasibility of achieving 100% electrification for all delivery fleets.
- The newly purchased vehicles will replace the 220,000 aging postal delivery vehicles.
Why it’s news
USPS is looking to go fully electric, starting with adding 66,000 EVs to its delivery service fleet by 2028—in part of a bigger plan of adding 106,000 vehicles.
The new vehicles will replace aging ones in the postal delivery fleet and will also provide safer working conditions for postal drivers. These new vehicles are different from the ones they are replacing, coming aqqupied with air conditioning, advanced safety technology, and other features to make them more suitable for modern conditions.
Total vehicle investment is expected to reach $9.6 billion, including $3 billion from Inflation Reduction Act funds.
“We have a statutory requirement to deliver mail and packages to 163 million addresses six days per week and to cover our costs in doing so—that is our mission. If we can achieve those objectives in a more environmentally responsible way, we will do so,” says Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
USPS says it will continue to look into the feasibility of achieving 100% electrification for all delivery fleets in the future.
Some EVs entering the fleet are expected to start making deliveries as early as the end of 2023.
