UPDATE - US postal service to invest $9.6 billion in electric vehicles by 2028

ADDS WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The United States Postal Service (USPS) announced Tuesday that it is planning to invest $9.6 billion in more than 66,000 electric vehicles by 2028.

The postal service said it will increase the quantity of its next generation delivery vehicles to a minimum of 60,000, of which at least 45,000, or 75%, will be electric in the next six years.

It plans to purchase an additional 21,000 electric delivery vehicles in that period.

The move could make the USPS the largest electric vehicle fleet in the country by 2028.

Other postal network modernization efforts aim to achieve carbon reductions through the USPS' logistics improvements and reduced transportation costs.

"We have a statutory requirement to deliver mail and packages to 163 million addresses six days per week and to cover our costs in doing so – that is our mission," Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said in a statement." As I have said in the past, if we can achieve those objectives in a more environmentally responsible way, we will do so."

The nearly $10 billion investment includes $3 billion in congressional funding appropriated under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which has "significantly reduced the risk associated with accelerating the implementation of a nationwide infrastructure necessary to electrify our delivery fleet," he added.

Most of the electric vehicle funding will continue to come from Postal Service revenues, noted DeJoy.

The White House said the USPS' actions will sustain reliable mail services while modernizing its fleet, reducing operating costs, increasing clean air in neighborhoods, creating jobs and improving public health.

It cited Biden’s goal for 50% of new vehicles sold in 2030 to be electric and said US electric vehicle sales have tripled since the president took office.

"We commend the U.S. Postal Service," said John Podesta, senior advisor to the president. "The USPS plan leverages the $3 billion provided by the Inflation Reduction Act to hit the target of 100% electric delivery vehicle purchases in 2026, sets the postal fleet on a course for electrification, significantly reduces vehicles miles traveled in the network, and places USPS at the forefront of the clean transportation revolution."

The White House noted that the president has a target to electrify the US government’s 650,000 vehicles.