US Postal Service With New Electric Vehicle at CES
Not only the German postal service is interested in electric cars as delivery vehicles, but also the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). A new vehicle was presented a few weeks ago and the USPS had a large stand with this vehicle at CES 2022 in Las Vegas.
And: it’s surprisingly big! Anyone familiar with the typical mail delivery vehicles in the U.S., which are quite compact and I can barely see over them, will be amazed at how tall and roomy this vehicle is. Aside from the obvious: anyone seeing the vehicle for the first time will have an opinion on its appearance. Ugly, duck head like, cute, etc. it looks.
The USPS has made a $500 million downpayment to the Oshkosh company to get between 50,000 and 165,000 of these vehicles starting in 2023. Only 10 percent of those will be electric, however, and the rest will still have internal combustion engines. The financially parched U.S. Postal Service would have to invest an additional $3 billion to $4 billion to switch completely to electric vehicles, money that the Postal Service, whose rates and delivery areas are mandated by the U.S. Congress, does not have.
Well, it won’t win any beauty awards, but on the one hand it’s about practicality, and on the other hand it’s about acceptance by the population. And ostentatious vehicles such as the BMW iX and other bulky vehicles don’t do the postal service any favors.
This article was also published in German.
