The U.S. Postal Service is planning to announce plans to buy 66,000 electric vehicles (EVs) by 2026 on Tuesday, set to be one of the country’s largest electric fleets, according to a report from the Washington Post.
The news is expected to be announced by the Biden administration on Tuesday, with the agency planning to buy roughly 60,000 “next-generation delivery vehicles” from the defense contractor Oshkosh.
45,000 of the vehicles purchased will be electric, according to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
Additionally, the U.S.P.S. plans to spend about $9.6 billion on vehicles and other related infrastructure, $3 billion of which will come from the recent Inflation Reduction Act.
U.S. Postal Service Asked by Feds to Pause $11.3 Billion Gas Mail Truck Order https://t.co/kB0ze5lPPV
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Biden’s administration is also hopeful that the shift will help other companies and delivery services to move toward carbon-free delivery vehicles.
“I think it puts pressure on them to up their game, too,” White House senior adviser for clean energy innovation John Podesta said. “If the Postal Service can move out with this kind of aggressive plan, the public expects these companies that have made these long-term announcements to catch up in the near term.”
The news comes after reports said earlier this year that the U.S.P.S. would be upgrading to EVs, before the agency backed out and attempted to purchase gas trucks.