The USPS has awarded a contract to purchase 9,250 Ford E-Transit BEVs. Delivery of these 100% electric vehicles is set to begin in December of this year, pending compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. These domestically-sourced vehicles are part of the USPS’s vehicle acquisition plan, which includes a total of 21,000 COTS vehicles. 

To support charging of all the new EVs in USPS’ fleet, they has awarded competitive contracts to three suppliers for the purchase of over 14,000 charging stations to establish an initial and ongoing Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) inventory. EVSE inventory is the charging station hardware and software needed to support EV charging at the facilities from which the delivery vehicles will operate.

The USPS has been committed to taking a  financially responsible to its electrification plans. It will acquire ‘mission-capable’ EVs for America’s largest and oldest federal fleet. By 2028, the USPS aims to have a total of 66,230 electric delivery vehicles and an overall acquisition of 106,000 delivery vehicles. All awards in the announcement are contingent on the USPS’s satisfactory completion of National Environmental Policy Act requirements.

USPS is moving forward with its plans to improve service, reduce cost, grow revenue, and improve the working environment for its employees by electrifying its fleet. The agency has developed a strategy that mitigates both cost and risk of deployment, enabling execution of this initiative immediately.

Transitioning to E-Mobility will be an enormous undertaking for USPS that will span several years. Given the size of their fleet, and how the EVs will be deployed, USPS may potentially be a model for other government agencies, as well as large commercial fleet operators to follow. It will also create opportunities for service providers to help USPS analyze and optimize their fleet, as well as expand services.