- Last year, Congress provided USPS with $3 billion to electrify its vehicles and install 14,000 chargers.
- Ford and Oshkosh are scheduled to deliver thousands of EVs to the USPS in the coming years.
- Some analysts predict Trump will push for more ICE vehicles to be added to the new USPS fleet.
The electrification of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) fleet is in the crosshairs as Donald Trump prepares to return to the Oval Office next month. Reports suggest the incoming administration may be eyeing the cancellation of multi-billion-dollar EV contracts, potentially derailing years of progress toward modernizing and decarbonizing the USPS’s aging delivery trucks.
According to a Reuters report citing unnamed sources, Trump’s transition team is exploring ways to rollback key postal EV initiatives, including contracts with Ford and Oshkosh. A plan could be announced shortly after Trump becomes President, and if he does try to end the roll-out of electric delivery trucks, it could be one of many moves made to unwind decarbonization efforts initiated by the current Biden administration.
Read: Ford, GM, Stellantis, Toyota Beg Trump Not To Axe EV Tax Credits
In early 2021, Oshkosh secured a contract to supply USPS with its next-generation delivery vehicles, with initial targets of assembling between 50,000 to 165,000 EVs over the course of 10 years. In 2023, Congress provided USPS with $3 billion to go towards the purchase of 66,000 EVs, approximately 45,000 of which are now expected to come from Oshkosh, while the others will come from established brands, including Ford.
Unwinding EV Investments Won’t Be Easy
Reuters notes that severing the contracts USPS has signed with Oshkosh and Ford could be challenging, as it’s an autonomous federal agency with a governing body. In a statement, Oshkosh said it’s “fully committed to our strong partnership with the USPS and looks forward to continuing to provide our postal carriers with reliable, safe, and sustainable modern delivery vehicles, even as USPS’ needs continue to evolve.”
Analysts from investment banking firm Jefferies believe that the Trump administration won’t completely cancel the contracts, but could push for fewer EVs and more ICE-powered vehicles to be included. “Given the need for the replacement of aging equipment, we are confident that the USPS will be receiving new vehicles in 2025. The mix of that order could potentially change to appease an administration that is more hostile to (EVs),” the analysts wrote.
The USPS electrification plan isn’t just about trucks as it also involves deploying 14,000 EV chargers across the country. These chargers, sourced from Siemens, Rexel/ChargePoint, and Blink, are intended to support the broader fleet transition. Whether the Trump administration will interfere with this infrastructure rollout remains unclear, but any disruptions could further complicate the USPS’s EV ambitions.
