The company behind the United States Postal Service’s all-electric mail trucks has said it would be prepared to switch to gas vehicles.
Oshkosh Corp., known for providing the ‘Duck’ mail trucks, has stated that it is prepared to change direction if the USPS reduces orders for electric vehicles during a potential second term under Trump.
Trump, who takes office on January 20, has long criticized funding brought in by the Biden administration to transition to an electric mail fleet.
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) introduced by President Biden allocates $3 billion over ten years to enable the Postal Service to transition to fully electric vehicles, including trucks and charging stations.
USPS said in October last year that it plans to buy more than 100,000 mail trucks through 2028, of which at least 62 percent will be EVs.
Oshkosh has received its first order from USPS for 50,000 electric trucks, valued at $2.98 billion.
But John Pfeifer, CEO of Oshkosh, said the company would be prepared to make the switch back to gas if necessary.
‘We will comply with their wishes – whether it is supplying gas-powered or electric vehicles,’ he mentioned during an interview at the CES trade show in Las Vegas, as reported by Bloomberg.
‘A new Congress could come in and repeal, I guess, part of the IRA that hasn’t been spent.’
Oshkosh Corp., which provides the so-called ‘Duck’ mail trucks, has said it is prepared to U-turn if USPS cuts back orders for EVs under the second Trump term
Trump’s team is reportedly looking at whether it can get out of USPS contracts with Oshkosh and Ford, Reuters has reported.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, meanwhile, told Bloomberg last month that the agency needs to replace ageing mail trucks, but he has not heard from the incoming administration as to whether it plans to buy EVs or not.
USPS confirmed to DailyMail.com that it had no new information to share at this time.
Pfeifer said the company has also not heard from the incoming administration or from USPS about shifting away from electric trucks.
He said EVs account for almost three quarters of the delivery trucks the Postal Service has ordered from Oshkosh.
While electric trucks cost more up front than gas-fueled versions, their advantage is lower operating costs for maintenance and refueling, he added.
‘The Postmaster General knows that’s one of the keys to him turning around the financial performance of the postal service because the running costs are so much lower,’ he told Bloomberg.
‘We’ll do what they want us to do – supplying either gas or electric,’ said Oshkosh CEO John Pfeifer in an interview at the CES trade show in Las Vegas
Trump, who takes office on January 20, has long criticized funding brought in by the Biden administration to transition to an electric mail fleet
President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provided $3 billion over a decade for the Postal Service to become all-electric (Pictured: Biden test drives a GMC Hummer EV)
USPS has brought in several changes since 2021 as part of the financially beleaguered service’s plan to avoid $160 billion in projected losses over a decade.
Like other postal services across the world, it is facing headwinds as fewer people send physical mail.
The service, like many other independent agencies and government departments, is likely waiting with baited breath to see what steps the President-elect takes when he is sworn into office.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has already said that the IRA, Biden’s landmark signature climate law, would be an early target for the new Congress.
Trump, who has been an outspoken critic of EVs, said last year that no state would be allowed to ban gas-powered cars if he won a second term in office.
If the EV component of Oshkosh’s contract with USPS was reduced to zero, it would likely mean a 50 cent to 60 cent per share hit to the company’s 2026 and 2027 earnings per share, Citi analyst Kyle Menges has estimated, Bloomberg reported.
