U.S. Postal Service Placed First Order for Next Generation Mail Vehicles with Oshkosh Defense

Friday, March 25th, 2022 -- 9:00 AM

(WBAY) The United States Postal Service has placed its first order for next generation mail vehicles with Oshkosh Defense.

USPS has ordered 50,000 of the zero-emission battery electric vehicles in a deal valued at $2.98 billion. The vehicles will be built at a facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina, not locally in Oshkosh.

“We’re incredibly proud to build the USPS NGDV. It is designed to be the modern, safe, dependable vehicle the carriers have been waiting for,” said John Bryant, Executive Vice President, Oshkosh Corporation, and President, Oshkosh Defense. “Facility preparations in South Carolina are well underway and hiring of team members has already begun.”

Oshkosh Corporation workers in Oshkosh have attempted to lobby Oshkosh Defense to build the vehicles in Wisconsin. In February, hundreds of union workers held up signs demanding that the company reverse a decision made last summer regarding production.

“The frustrating part is that Oshkosh isn’t doing the right thing. The were awarded this contract on the back of our workers. We are known for our quality work, our top of the line vehicles. We make them durable, reliable and we deliver on time,” said Tim Jacobson, Chief Steward, UAW Local 578.

The site in Spartanburg will be 900,000 square feet, and is more than twice the size of any facility in Oshkosh, according to the company. Oshkosh Defense won the contract last February.

Production is set to start in 2023. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have called for an investigation into the USPS next generation plan, saying it falls short of President Joe Biden’s environmental plan.

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