The US Postal Service will spend nearly $10 billion for new electric vehicles in a push to make its mail delivery fleet more environmentally friendly.
The agency will purchase 66,000 electric vehicles for its mail delivery fleet by 2028, according to a statement Tuesday. That represents about a quarter of USPS’s current level, and the postal service will continue exploring the potential to make its entire fleet electric.
The agency will buy 60,000 vehicles from defense contractor Oshkosh Corp., of which some 45,000 will be electric, according to the Washington Post, which earlier reported on the development. Shares of Oshkosh rose as much as 2.7% Tuesday, the most in five weeks.
The Postal Service also plans to buy 21,000 commercial electric vehicles from other automakers, according to the statement.
The development marks a dramatic turnaround from the Postal Service’s prior announcement for plans to replace its fleet of aging red-white-and blue delivery vans with mostly gasoline powered models. That was a blow to President Joe Biden’s climate plans and a bid by electric vehicle maker Workhorse Group Inc.
About $3 billion of the planned investment will come from Inflation Reduction Act funds.
