The United States Postal Service announced this week that it will be acquiring 9,250 electric Ford E-Transit vans as part of a massive plan to electrify the federal government’s largest fleet.
“Ford is proud to support the United States Postal Service in delivering a more sustainable future for America by electrifying their fleet with over 9,200 E-Transit vans through the end of 2024,” said Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO.
“Built by our dedicated UAW workforce at the Kansas City Assembly Plant, vehicles will be operated by the largest electric fleet in the country serving communities on every street corner. Together with USPS, we are committing to cleaner air and a better planet,” Farley continued.
Three unnamed suppliers have been awarded contracts to provide over 14,000 chargers and software to power the left-hand drive vans which will begin rolling out for service this December.
[Related: FedEx launches electric Ford E-Transit pilot]
As part of the earliest stages of USPS’ delivery vehicle replacement plan, a contract for 9,250 commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) internal combustion engine vehicles will also be concurrently awarded to fill an urgent need for vehicles.
Specific locations for vehicle and charger deployment have not yet been finalized and will depend on route characteristics, including whether a left-hand drive vehicle is mission-suitable as well as other business considerations.
Overall, the Postal Service’s total investment in vehicles is expected to reach $9.6 billion, including $3 billion from Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds. USPS announced in December its goal of reaching a 75 percent electric fleet of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDVs) over the next five years. Acquisitions of NGDVs after 2026 will be 100 percent electric.
The Postal Service plans to begin building out its charging infrastructure across a minimum of 75 locations within the next 12 months, and thereafter to continue the infrastructure build out in the succeeding years at many additional facilities as a part of our delivery vehicle electrification strategy.
“We are moving forward with our plans to simultaneously improve our service, reduce our cost, grow our revenue, and improve the working environment for our employees. Electrification of our vehicle fleet is now an important component of these initiatives,” said Louis DeJoy, Postmaster General.
“We have developed a strategy that mitigates both cost and risk of deployment – which enable execution on this initiative to begin now,” DeJoy continued. “I again want to thank the Administration officials and members of Congress who have assisted us in this initiative. Each has shown genuine understanding that our movement toward electrification must be thoughtful and deliberate, must appropriately manage risk, and must be consistent with our primary delivery mission for the American people.”
