$3 Billion Spent-612 Electric Postal Vans So Far

With the end of the year upon us, we decided it was a good time to share an update on the United States Postal Service's plan to electrify its mail truck fleet. In July, we reported that only 250 electric Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDVs) had been produced to date, with fewer than 100 delivered and in service. 

Fast forward to a recent news article that reports the U.S. Postal Service has spent more than $3 billion in taxpayer funds to build a new fleet of electric delivery trucks, but fewer than 700 of the vehicles are on the road, according to a letter reviewed by the New York Post. The money came from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which earmarked billions for the agency to replace its aging delivery fleet with battery-electric vehicles. Oshkosh Defense, a Wisconsin-based defense contractor, won the contract to build the purpose-built Next Generation Delivery Vehicle.

According to the Nov. 17 letter sent to Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, only 612 battery-electric versions of the NGDV have entered service despite the massive federal investment. The agency also purchased thousands of Ford E-Transit electric vans, and while 2,010 of those are reportedly in operation, the letter says more than 6,700 remain unused. Many of the idle vans, according to the report, cannot efficiently run certain delivery routes that were specifically designed for right-hand-drive, curbside mail trucks, limiting where the Ford vans can be deployed. The letter, citing USPS data, says just 15 postal facilities are currently using the NGDV electric trucks.

Ernst has criticized the program sharply, calling it a costly misfire. She said in a statement the Postal Service “should pull the plug on an EV fleet that’s lost in the mail” and return unspent funds to taxpayers. She has also questioned whether the agency will ever meet the ambitious fleet targets it announced when the program was launched.

The Postal Service pushed back on claims that the effort has stalled. In its response, cited by the New York Post, USPS said it has procured more than 9,300 electric vehicles with funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, including NGDVs and commercial electric vans, and said its charging infrastructure continues to expand nationwide. The agency reported that 6,651 charging ports have been commissioned at 75 facilities so far, noting that electrical upgrades and charger installation often take longer than vehicle delivery but are essential before widespread deployment.

USPS officials also defended the limited use of the Ford vans, saying the NGDVs were designed specifically for mail delivery routes and can operate where commercial vans cannot. The electric NGDV features right-hand-drive configuration, additional cargo flexibility, and route-specific durability requirements that are not met by standard vans.

The Postal Service has laid out a long-term modernization plan that calls for the purchase of 45,000 electric NGDVs and 21,000 commercial electric vans by 2028. In total, USPS expects to acquire up to 106,000 new vehicles by the end of fiscal 2028, with the majority being electric. Earlier this month, the agency said it was already using more than 2,600 electric vehicles for daily mail delivery.

Still, the slow pace of deployment has fueled concern among lawmakers and critics who say the agency has burned through billions with too little to show for it. The letter reviewed by the New York Post highlights the gap between the program’s original promise and the results so far, raising new questions about whether the Postal Service can meet its goals — and whether taxpayers will see the return on investment they were promised.

USPS Electric NGV. Credit: United States Postal Service.