The existing U.S. Postal Service (USPS) delivery vehicles are a plucky but very old design, lacking modern amenities and safety features like airbags and air conditioning. They’ve been overdue for replacement for decades, and while it’s finally happening it’s been a bumpy road. The accepted proposal for a next-generation delivery vehicle (NGDV) for the mail service promises to fix those issues, as well as offer a bespoke all-electric delivery platform, which was originally criticized by the EPA but is moving forward to production … eventually, as there’s now been a delay.
In a court filing on Monday via Reuters, the U.S. Postal Service revealed that its upcoming all-electric NGDVs from General Motors’ Oshkosh manufacturer would be delayed by up to nine months, with first deliveries now scheduled for June 2024, nearly a year from now. The initial order accounted for 50,000 NGDVs for a price of $2.98 billion, with initial deliveries originally expected in October later this year. The deal has the potential to expand up to a $6 billion acquisition for around 165,000 vehicles in the next decade.
Prior to December, the original plan was to acquire mostly internal-combustion (ICE) powered replacement vehicles, but the USPS has since amended the order to account for mostly all-electric versions of the NGDV, which was engineered to be adaptable to multiple powertrains; NGDVs delivered as ICE can also be retrofitted later to an EV. The USPS has announced further plans to purchase 66,000 new EVs through 2028, 45,000 of which are Oshkosh’s NGDV; 9,250 Ford E-Transit delivery vans are also on order, as are an equal amount of combustion-powered vans from Stellantis.
The USPS required that the NGDV feature right-hand drive operating controls, two- and four-wheel drive options, a range of at least 70 miles, and a cost of no more than $35,000 per vehicle. People ranging from the 5th to 95th percentile are able to stand in the cargo area, the max height of the NGDV is 112 inches, and it has to store at least 155 cubic feet of mail cargo.
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