US Postal Service chief defends plan to buy rising number of EVs (updated)

Oshkosh

10/12/2024 18:00

(Updates with more comments from hearing in paragraphs 5-13)
    By David Shepardson
       WASHINGTON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Postmaster General
Louis DeJoy defended plans to buy a rising number of electric
delivery vehicles and said he did not plan to return funding
earmarked for zero-emission models without legislation from
Congress.
    In 2023, Congress gave USPS $3 billion as part of a $430
billion climate bill to buy EVs and charging infrastructure --
including $1.2 billion for electric vehicles. It plans to buy
some 66,000 electric vehicles by 2028.
    DeJoy said at a U.S. House of Representatives hearing on
Tuesday that the EV purchase plan makes business sense for USPS.
    Reuters reported last week that Donald Trump's transition
team is considering seeking the cancellation of USPS contracts
to electrify its delivery fleet, as part of a broader suite of
executive orders targeting electric vehicles, citing three
sources familiar with the plans.
    Sources told Reuters Trump’s team is reviewing how it can
unwind the postal service's multibillion-dollar contracts,
including with Oshkosh  OSK.N  to build next-generation delivery
vehicles and Ford  F.N .
    Representative William Timmons, a South Carolina Republican
who represents the district that is home to the Oshkosh plant
building the EVs, said USPS should revert to its prior plan to
buy 90% gas-powered vehicles, but not cancel the contract.
    "There's no reason that we should spend a billion plus more
dollars to impose a green new deal mandate on the Post Office,"
Timmons said. "I can promise you that Congress is about to fix
it. I look forward to working with the incoming Trump
administration to right this ship."
    DeJoy said any change "has to be legislation."
    Oshkosh is expected to deliver about 45,000 next-generation
electric vehicles and 21,000 off-the-shelf EVs, including 9,250
Ford E-Transit EVs.
    DeJoy said USPS bought 28,000 vehicles this year, 22,000 of
them gas-powered. He said purchases in 2025 will be around
"50-50" EVs and gas-powered. USPS has said next-generation
delivery vehicles bought starting in 2026 are expected to be
all-EVs.
    DeJoy said USPS is paying about $20,000 more for the Oshkosh
next-generation delivery EVs and about $10,000 more for
off-the-shelf EVs over gas-powered models.
    In 2021, President Joe Biden issued an executive order 
setting a goal that 50% of all new passenger cars and light
trucks would be zero-emission vehicles by 2030, and that
light-duty cars and trucks acquired by the government will be
emission-free by 2027. Those rules do not apply to the Postal
Service, since it is an independent federal agency.
    USPS said in 2022 it expects to spend $9.6 billion on
vehicle acquisitions through 2028.
    
    

 (Reporting by David Shepardson
Editing by Bill Berkrot)
 ((David.Shepardson@thomsonreuters.com; 2028988324;))