Ford will supply US Postal Service with electric vehicles
The American car manufacturer has bagged a contract with the country´s largest mail delivery company.

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is supplied by Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) with engines and accessories for the delivery vehicles built by Oskhosh Defense. Ford will also provide other services such as transmissions to help the USPS evolve its postal services. USPS wants to buy a mix of electric and gasoline vehicles for postal service. For these vehicles, USPS will source electric batteries, internal combustion engines and other components from Ford. Ford will also supply the USPS with the transmissions installed in Michigan. Although Ford announced this development, the financial terms were not disclosed. In February, Oshkosh Corp's sister company, Oshkosh Defense, successfully landed a $ 6 billion contract. The delivery vehicles will be assembled in Spartanburg, South Carolina, according to Oshkosh. Workhorse, which has also tried to acquire the contract, has filed a lawsuit. USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has pledged to convert only 10 percent of its entire fleet to electric vehicles, according to Workhorse, an emerging electric vehicle startup. Ford has said it would provide powertrain components for either electric or gas models. It is the first time in three decades that USPS is converting its fleet through the use of the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV). USPS currently relies on Grumman Long Life Vehicles, which were built between 1987 and 1994. These vehicles have a lifespan of 24 years. Under a new contract, USPS will purchase approximately 50,000 to 165,000 NGDVs over a ten year period. In his press release, Oshkosh stated that the company could develop numerous vehicles. However, Oshkosh admitted to the Securities & Exchange Commission that it doesn't have much experience or money to deliver more NGDVs. Oshkosh will hire more than 1,000 people to run the operations at its Spartanburg facility. Production will start in 2023.
