President Biden has made clear that the Federal Government should (will) move to 100 percent clean (mainly electric) vehicle acquisition (“including vehicles of the United States Postal Service”) as quickly as possible.
Postmaster General DeJoy has made clear that, well, ‘frankly my dear, he doesn’t give a damn” with today’s announcement of the Next-Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV):
The vehicles will be equipped with either fuel-efficient internal combustion engines or battery electric powertrains
While the press release emphasizes “either … or …”, the winning firm ( Oshkosh) was emphasized as the “gasoline” engine option in the years of the bidding process. Oshkosh is partnered with Ford and the NGDV is based on the Ford Transit which has a ICE drive train. Ford announced an electric Transit option in late 2020 for the 2022 model year.
Some saw, in late 2020, electric start-up Workhorse as the likely winner due its proposal being all electric. That a major firm (Oshkosh Defense) partnered with a major auto manufacturer (FORD) won over a small and unprofitable (essentially start-up) firm (Workhorse) and a small U.S. presence foreign firm for a $6B vehicle contract that will have, easily, a 30-year run life shouldn’t surprise anyone.
The existing fleet of postal delivery vehicles is in desperate need for replacement. These decades-old vehicles are, literally, spontaneously exploding in flames. They are expensive to maintain, unsafe, uncomfortable, and without 30+ years of advancements in automotive technology and design. The Oshkosh NGDV, with first deliveries as early as 2023, will be a leap-ahead for the Postal Service. All of this is true.
However, the Biden Administration should have (if it didn’t) worked to have the announcement delayed for a review to make this a 100 percent electric (clean) vehicle acquisition in line with President Biden’s executive order. Putting aside climate reality and the necessity for rapid movement, there is a simple true: even if they cost more to buy (a differential dropping every day), it costs far less to own an electric vehicle. Considering these will be on essentially every single US street six times a week for perhaps the next 30 years, there is no economic and financial justification for not going with a 100% clean (and nearly 100% electric) fleet. Every single one (and of them) delivered with an internal combustion engine will be a wasted investment.
Note:
As a quick response to the USPS announcement, I did take the time to detail how this will improve the life of the postal worker (how much a better vehicle it is) nor the myriad of benefit streams and reasons to go all-electric. As to the last, David Roberts provided an excellent discussion in A no-brainer stimulus idea: Electrify USPS mail trucks Electric vehicles for the US Postal Service would reduce noise, air, and carbon pollution in every community.
Also, something to consider. While there is a clear potential that the chosen NGDV will end up primarily being an electric-vehicle, the base model is an ICE. Modifying an ICE-based designed vehicle for an EV-variant is a sub-optimal path compared to bottom-up design and development as an electric vehicle.
UPDATE:
The Zero-Emission Transportation Alliance (ZETA) has come out with a statement: ZETA Opposes DeJoy Move to Buy Gas-Powered Vehicles.