USPS prepares to go all EV

U.S. Postal Service (USPS), in a Feb. 28 statement, said the agency will buy 9,250 Ford Motor Co. electric vans and 14,000 charging stations late in 2023 as part of a gradual move to transition to electric vehicles.

Postal officials, who vowed to go all-electric for new purchases starting in 2026, also said it will continue to invest for now in its gas-powered fleet, announcing it will purchase 9,250 internal combustion vans this fall from Fiat Chrysler in North America.

Total expenditure for both kinds of vehicles is estimated at more than $1 billion.

USPS also announced it has awarded $260 million for EV charging stations to three contractors: Blink Charging Co., Siemens Industry Inc. and Rexel USA Energy Solutions, with installation beginning in the third quarter of this year.

A plan is underway, USPS said, to spend nearly $10 billion over the next four years to electrify its aging fleet.

Included in the figure is $3 billion in funding OK'd as part of a landmark climate and health policy adopted in 2022 by Congress.

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