These awards are consistent with the vehicle electrification strategy announced by USPS in December of 2022.
Overall, the Postal Service's total investment in vehicles is expected to reach US$9.6 billion, including US$3bn from Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds. The December 2022 plan announced intended acquisitions over the next five years of a 75% EV fleet of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDV). Acquisitions of NGDV after 2026 will be 100% electric.
As part of the earliest stages of the 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 the urgent need for vehicles. The specific locations for deployment of the vehicles and infrastructure have not yet been finalised and will depend on route characteristics, including whether a left-hand drive vehicle is mission suitable as well as other business considerations.
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 the delivery vehicle electrification strategy.
To support the charging for all the newly purchased electric vehicles, both the COTS vehicles announced and future acquisitions including NGDV, the Postal Service awarded competitive contracts to three suppliers for the purchase of more than 14,000 charging stations to establish an initial and ongoing Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) inventory. This EVSE inventory is the charging station hardware and software needed to support EV charging at the facilities from which the delivery vehicles will operate.
