US Postal Service commits to buying 100% electric trucks by 2026

In a major reversal, the US Postal Service (USPS) has announced that it will ensure that 75% of new vehicles purchased by 2028 will be electric. By 2026, that will increase to 100% of purchases.

The USPS announced in a press release that it expects to acquire at least 66,000 battery electric delivery vehicles from defense contractor Oshkosh as part of its 106,000 vehicle acquisition plan for deliveries between now and 2028. Further, 21,000 additional commercial off-the-shelf vehicles are also expected to be battery electric.

The EVs the USPS purchases will begin to replace its aging delivery fleet of over 220,000 vehicles.

The funding comes from $3 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act ($1.3 for vehicles, $1.7 for charging stations) and another $6.6 billion from the USPS that will mainly go toward heavy-duty trucks and other non-delivery vehicles, for a total of almost $10 billion to electrify the largest civilian fleet in the federal government.

As Electrek‘s Jameson Dow noted in August, “It’s the latest move in the long saga for postal service electrification and effectively ‘calls USPS’s bluff’ by supplying as much funding as the USPS claimed a 100% BEV fleet would cost.”

In April, several environmental groups and over a dozen states took the USPS to court over its plan to double down on fossil fuel mail trucks. 

Katherine García, director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All campaign, said in a statement:

Finally we’re seeing the common-sense decision to move the government’s largest fleet of vehicles to all-electric, a massive win for climate and public health.

Instead of receiving pollution with their daily mail packages, communities across the US will get the relief of cleaner air. The way we get to a 100% electric fleet matters – these vehicles must be union-built and made with materials from a clean supply chain.

Read more:

UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

In a major reversal, the US Postal Service (USPS) has announced that it will ensure that 75% of new vehicles purchased by 2028 will be electric. By 2026, that will increase to 100% of purchases.

The USPS announced in a press release that it expects to acquire at least 66,000 battery electric delivery vehicles from defense contractor Oshkosh as part of its 106,000 vehicle acquisition plan for deliveries between now and 2028. Further, 21,000 additional commercial off-the-shelf vehicles are also expected to be battery electric.

The EVs the USPS purchases will begin to replace its aging delivery fleet of over 220,000 vehicles.

The funding comes from $3 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act ($1.3 for vehicles, $1.7 for charging stations) and another $6.6 billion from the USPS that will mainly go toward heavy-duty trucks and other non-delivery vehicles, for a total of almost $10 billion to electrify the largest civilian fleet in the federal government.

As Electrek‘s Jameson Dow noted in August, “It’s the latest move in the long saga for postal service electrification and effectively ‘calls USPS’s bluff’ by supplying as much funding as the USPS claimed a 100% BEV fleet would cost.”

In April, several environmental groups and over a dozen states took the USPS to court over its plan to double down on fossil fuel mail trucks. 

Katherine García, director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All campaign, said in a statement:

Finally we’re seeing the common-sense decision to move the government’s largest fleet of vehicles to all-electric, a massive win for climate and public health.

Instead of receiving pollution with their daily mail packages, communities across the US will get the relief of cleaner air. The way we get to a 100% electric fleet matters – these vehicles must be union-built and made with materials from a clean supply chain.

Read more:

UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.