USPS unveils new mail carrier trucks
The United States Postal Service is replacing its current fleet of mail trucks and just put pen to paper on a contract for new delivery trucks, including a number of electric models.
The USPS awarded the $482 million contract to Oshkosh Defense of Wisconsin. The new trucks will replace the current models, all of which were manufactured between 1987 and 1994, and are thus missing certain amenities that have become standard in the decades since. Those current models were only supposed to be used for 24 years but were kept in operation as budget constraints delayed the already-lagging search for new trucks.
The total contract is estimated to cost at least $2 billion. The initial investment will cover a finalized design and “plant tooling and build-out for the U.S. manufacturing facility where final vehicle assembly will occur,” the USPS said.
The Oshkosh trucks, dubbed the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle, are expected to hit the streets and start delivering mail sometime in 2023.
The company will manufacture both battery-electric vehicles and low-emission internal-combustion-engine vehicles. They’ll include air conditioning and airbags, which the current trucks lack. A number of other safety features, like collision avoidance systems and automated emergency braking. The trucks will have more cargo space.
The contract, which lasts 10 years, stipulates that the USPS will order between 50,000 and 165,000 trucks.
