The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) announced today that at least 50% of its new vehicle fleet—the Next Generation Delivery Vehicles—will be electric. This decision represents a reversal of an earlier decision by USPS, which promised to electrify only a tiny percentage of the new fleet.

The BlueGreen Alliance released the following statement from Policy Advisor Reem Rayef in response to the announcement:

“The Postal Service is finally awakening to the cost-saving potential of fleet electrification, the urgency of transportation electrification for meeting our climate goals, and the opportunity to showcase electric vehicles in every neighborhood across America. Studies show that 97% of Postal Service vehicles can be replaced with electric vehicles at a lower total cost of ownership than comparable internal combustion engine vehicles—saving the Postal Service upwards of $4.3 billion by 2030. This announcement growing the electric share of the future delivery fleet is a leap in the right direction.

“But there’s more that the Postal Service can do to model a clean and equitable fleet transition. We need even more electric delivery vehicles. And we need them built by workers with good union jobs, reflecting the Biden administration’s commitment to making federal investments that support workers and communities. That means building the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where contractor Oshkosh Defense’s United Auto Workers (UAW) workforce is ready to build the delivery vehicles of the future.”