The United States Postal Service has reversed course after outrage over the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV).
The Postal Service originally committed to electrifying just 10% of the NDGV fleet as they claimed the electric version had a “significantly higher total cost of ownership than the ICE NGDV.” That number was eventually increased to 20%, but this still meant a vast majority of the NGDVs would be gas guzzlers, which return a dismal 8.6 mpg with their air conditioner running.
However, there’s been a change of heart as the USPS is now anticipating to adjust the composition of the NGDV fleet based on “refinements to the Postal Service’s overall network modernization, route optimizations, improved facility electric infrastructure, and availability of vehicles and technology.” With these new considerations, they want at least 50% of the 50,000 NGDVs that have already been ordered to be electric.
Also Read: Meet The Next-Generation USPS Delivery Vehicle Coming In 2023
Furthermore, the Postal Service is proposing to buy 34,500 commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) vehicles over a two year period “because of the critical and immediate need to accelerate the replacement of our aging fleet” that largely consists of Grumman LLVs. The USPS has been eager to get rid of them as a number have been in service for more than 30 years and their lack of air conditioning makes them sweatboxes in the summer.
In regards to the COTS vehicles, the Postal Service intends on buying “as many BEVs as are commercially available.” Of the combined 84,500 NGDV and COTS vehicles, the Postal Service anticipates having at least 40% being electric.
This is a dramatic reversal as back in February, the Postal Service said their previous plans were a “fiscally and environmentally responsible” way to modernize the federal government’s largest and oldest vehicle fleet.
