USPS rejects Biden’s plea to buy more electric mail trucks

‘The process needs to keep moving forward’

The United States Postal Service authorized the replacement of its mail truck fleet with nearly all gasoline-powered vehicles, rejecting a plea from President Joe Biden to include more electric vehicles in its purchase.

The move, which was announced Wednesday, signals the independent agency’s decision to move forward with a controversial plan to purchase 165,000 next-generation mail trucks, only 10 percent of which will be battery-electric vehicles (BEV). The USPS determined there was no legal reason to delay its plans.

In a statement, Postmaster Louis DeJoy said the agency would consider adding more EVs to its fleet sometime in the future. “[W]e will continue to pursue the acquisition of additional BEV as additional funding — from either internal or congressional sources — becomes available,” DeJoy said. “But the process needs to keep moving forward.”

Following a years-long bidding process, the USPS unveiled its next-generation mail truck in February 2021. The vehicles will be manufactured by defense contractor Oshkosh for $500 million by 2023. They will replace the current mail trucks that have been in service for more than two decades, which were built by defense contractor Grumman.