The USA Postal Service (USPS) on Tuesday stated it could purchase solely electrical supply automobiles from 2026 on, an about-face from the company’s authentic plan to proceed with internal-combustion powertrains for many of its next-generation fleet.

The USPS plans to accumulate 106,000 automobiles between now and 2028, of which not less than 66,000 automobiles will likely be battery-electric, the company stated in a press launch. The plan, which goals to exchange an getting old ship fleet that presently numbers 220,000 automobiles, will value $9.6 billion, with $3 billion coming from the Inflation Discount Act (IRA).

Below the present plan, not less than 45,000 of the USPS’ Subsequent Era Supply Car (NGDV) mail vehicles, designed particularly for the USPS and constructed by protection contractor Oshkosh, will likely be battery-electric, representing 75% of the deliberate 60,000-vehicle fleet. The USPS additionally plans to accumulate 21,000 EVs based mostly on off-the-shelf designs.

USPS Motiv Energy e450 supply truck for Fresno, California

“The Postal Service additionally anticipates together with inside combustion automobiles needed to satisfy rapid automobile alternative wants,” the discharge famous. Feasibility of a 100% electrical USPS fleet “will proceed to be explored,” in accordance with the company.

The primary NGDV mail vehicles are scheduled to enter service in late 2023 as alternative for the aptly-named Lengthy Life Car (LLV) vehicles which have plied mail routes for many years. The USPS initially had a way more conservative electrification goal—which proved controversial.

The USPS in February 2021 revealed plans for the next-generation vehicles, with solely 10% electrical—after President Biden had made an government order emphasizing EVs in federal automobile purchases. That led to lawsuits from states and environmental teams.

USPS Subsequent Era Supply Car – Oshkosh Protection

This previous summer time, the USPS gave into stress, boosting its plan for EVs to half of the longer term fleet. A glance into some the unique USPS evaluation behind the electrical mail vehicles was launched across the similar time, and located it to be “considerably flawed“—particularly in its life-cycle evaluation, which made an odd assumption that the grid would not get any cleaner than it was at current.

As we reported earlier this month, there aren’t lots of EVs presently out there to federal companies. The Ford F-150 Lightning was the primary electrical pickup formally out there, however Ford’s closing of orders bumped it off the checklist in the meanwhile. The NGDV mail vehicles are being constructed for the USPS particularly to a bespoke design, although, so the company has had a chance to order up the ratio of every automobile kind it wants.