USPS anticipates that as of 2026 all delivery vehicles will be electric. In a significant departure from earlier plans, the United States Postal Service stated that it anticipates purchasing more than 66,000 electric vehicles by the end of 2028.
The USPS announced in February that it would buy 5,000 fully electric Next Generation Delivery Vehicles, with the remaining 45,000 of the initial order being filled by gas-powered trucks. Despite resistance from the Biden administration and the USPS, the agency gradually increased the percentage of EVs in the ranking.
The postal service will purchase at least 60,000 Next Generation Delivery Vehicles by 2028, at least 75 percent of which will be electric versions. The USPS anticipates that all NGDV purchases will be electric models beginning in 2026. Late next year is when the NGDVs are expected to start operating on delivery routes. Through 2028, the agency intends to purchase an additional 21,000 off-the-shelf EVs.
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The USPS plans to purchase 106,000 delivery vehicles by the end of 2028 to replace its fleet of more than 220,000 aging, inefficient, and less safe vehicles. This indicates that over the following six years, the agency will continue to purchase about 40,000 gas-powered models.
The feasibility of thoroughly electrifying the fleet “will continue to be explored,” the USPS stated in a statement. However, it thinks that increased EV availability will undoubtedly be beneficial.
The agency estimates that these vehicle purchases and associated infrastructure will cost $9.6 billion, $3 billion of which will come from Inflation Reduction Act funding. According to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, “the $3 billion provided by Congress has significantly reduced the risk associated with accelerating the implementation of a national infrastructure necessary to electrify our delivery fleet.”
“While Postal Service revenues will continue to provide the majority of the funding for electric vehicles, we appreciate the confidence Congress and the Administration have shown in us to build and acquire what could end up being the largest electric vehicle fleet in the country.”
