In case you missed it, the US Postal Service has awarded a 10-year contract to Oshkosh, Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Defense, LLC to provide it with a next-gen postal delivery vehicle fleet of some 165,000 vehicles to modernize its service.
The contract’s initial $482-million investment will see Oshkosh finalize the production design of the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV)—a purpose-built, right-hand-drive vehicle for mail and package delivery—and will assemble 50,000 to 165,000 over the next 10 years at a repurposed warehouse in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
The vehicles will be equipped with either fuel-efficient internal combustion engines or battery electric powertrains with the ability to be further retrofitted to keep pace with advances in electric vehicle technologies. The initial investment includes plant tooling and build-out for the U.S. manufacturing facility where final vehicle assembly will occur.
The effort to replace the Postal Services aging fleet technology that currently has over 230,000 vehicles in every class across every US community will have the first NGDV vehicles on carrier routes in 2023.
Louis DeJoy, Postmaster General and USPS CEO said: “The NGDV program expands our capacity for handling more package volume and supports our carriers with cleaner and more efficient technologies, more amenities, and greater comfort and security as they deliver every day on behalf of the American people.”
The vehicles will have air-conditioning and heating, improved user ergonomics, and advanced vehicle technology, including: 360-degree cameras; advanced braking and traction control; air bags; front- and rear-collision avoidance system featuring visual and audio warning, and; automatic braking. The NGDV’s will also feature increased cargo capacity.
Said Dejoy, “Our fleet modernization also reflects the Postal Service’s commitment to a more environmentally-sustainable mix of vehicles. Because we operate one of the largest civilian government fleets in the world, we are committed to pursuing near-term and long-term opportunities to reduce our impact on the environment.”