- The Postal Service has announced that it has ordered 9,250 Ford E-Transit vans.
- The order is part of an electrification initiative announced in December.
- The USPS is also installing 14,000 charging stations at post offices and related facilities.
The renewal of the Postal Service’s expanded fleet of mail trucks has been mired in controversy. Today’s famous mail trucks, Grumman LLVs, are old, rickety (and sometimes flammable), gas guzzlers. The process to solicit designs and bids for a new generation delivery vehicle is long and drawn out, dating back to 2015. The eventual winner, Oshkosh’s New Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV), was criticized not for its dull looks, but because the gas powered NGDV is almost as fuel hungry as the old Grummans. The EPA requested that the Postal Service reconsider, but the USPS basically told the EPA to pound sand.
Perhaps in a move to blunt some of that criticism, the Postal Service also announced in December that it would put about 66,000 EVs in its fleet. We now have the first details of that EV effort, with word coming that the Ford E-Transit van will be fit for postal service. The E-Transit features a 266 hp electric motor, rear-wheel drive and a range of 126 miles. The Postal Service ordered 9,250 of the Fords and notes that they were built in Kansas City, Missouri. They are scheduled to be deployed in December.
To recharge those vans, the USPS also ordered 14,000 charging stations to be located at its various facilities, with the equipment coming from three unnamed suppliers.
None of this means that the Postal Service is turning its back on gas-powered vehicles. In fact, the USPS has also announced that it will be purchasing a similar number (9250) of gas motor vehicles, this time from Stellantis. Those vehicles haven’t been identified, but it’s a good bet they’re Ram ProMaster pickups. Or maybe they’re Hellcat-powered Chargers and Challengers—that might not please the EPA, but it could really speed up mail delivery.
Deputy Editor, Reviews and Features
Joe Lorio has been obsessed with cars since his Matchbox days, getting his first subscription to Car and Driver at age 11. Joe began his career at Automobile Magazine under David E. Davis Jr. startup, and his work has also appeared on websites including Amazon Autos, Autoblog, AutoTrader, Hagerty, Hemmings, KBB, and TrueCar.
