Connected Car
The US Postal Service (USPS) is one step closer to building its fleet of more than 66,000 electric delivery vehicles under its US$9.6bn “Delivery for America” initiative which also includes connecting them to modern charging points at hundreds of postal facilities throughout the United States. The federal government agency has just announced agreements with Ford Motor Co. and three electric vehicle (EV) charging companies. Blink EV charging stations for businesses and EV drivers (courtesy of Blink Charging)While the charging station agreements total $260 million, USPS announced just over $1 billion in vehicle acquisition contracts. With the Postal Service facing an outdated fleet of more than 220,000 vehicles, 106,000 new units known as Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDV) are planned for deliveries between 2023 and 2028. To fill this urgent need, approximately one in four units will be ICE vehicles so gas-powered vehicles are still key, according to the Postal Service.