Ford to Provide 9,250 Electric USPS Trucks

Move over, Tesla, because USPS is getting more electric trucks. This past week, the Postal Service announced plans to purchase 9,250 E-Transit Battery-Electric Vehicles from Ford. The deal marks the Postal Service’s efforts to “modernize and electrify the nation’s largest federal fleet.”

The Postal Service’s Plan to Electrify its Fleet

As stated above, the planned purchase of 9,250 Ford electric vehicles is part of the Postal Service’s strategy to electrify its delivery fleet over the next few years. In a press release announcing the purchase, USPS also said that it will order 14,000 EV charging stations from three different suppliers. However, USPS failed to disclose the suppliers’ names.

USPS said it hasn’t finalized plans for where it would deploy the vehicles and infrastructure. That said, the agency said it intends to “begin building out its charging infrastructure across a minimum of 75 locations within the next 12 months.”

Boosting the Amount of USPS Electric Trucks

In February 2021, USPS announced it would order its next-generation delivery vehicles from Oshkosh, but received backlash when it was discovered that the majority of Oshkosh’s vehicles would be powered by combustion engines. Since then, the USPS has raised the number of EVs it plans to order.

In July 2022, USPS estimated that at least 40% of its new vehicle purchases would be electric. Then, in December 2022, USPS said it was exploring the “feasibility of achieving 100% electrification” for its fleet. Notably, Ford already provides engines and other components to Oshkosh as part of the Postal Service’s plan to update its delivery fleet.

How Much Will this Cost USPS?

According to the same press release referenced before, USPS expects to invest $9.6 billion in updating its delivery fleet. Between 2022 and 2026, USPS targets new purchases of next-gen vehicles to be 75% electric. The agency then expects acquisitions of Next-Gen vehicles to “be 100% electric” after 2026. Overall, the Postal Service’s plan is to acquire a total of 106,000 new delivery vehicles by 2028; 66,230 of those units will be electric.

Provided no supply chain issues, USPS says that it should start receiving Ford’s E-Transits in December.