USPS Chooses Oshkosh Defense to Replace Its Mail-Delivery Trucks
The elderly Grumman LLVs, in service since at least 1994, will be replaced by trucks with airbags and A/C. The design is yet to be finalized, but some will be electric
BY COLIN BERESFORD
FEB 23, 2021
The U.S. Postal Service has awarded Oshkosh Defense the contract to replace the aging Grumman LLV trucks that are currently delivering mail across the country.
The contract includes an initial $482 million investment from the USPS to finalize the design of the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV).
The new vehicles will include both battery-electric vehicles and those with low-emission internal-combustion engines. They are expected to be delivering mail by 2023.
The United States Postal Service, after over five years of searching, has awarded Oshkosh Defense of Wisconsin with the contract to replace its aging fleet of mail-delivery trucks. The contract includes an initial $482 million investment from the USPS in Oshkosh to finalize the design of the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV) and to begin the tooling of an assembly plant.
The NGDVs will replace the Grumman LLVs which currently serve as the USPS's mail-delivery trucks. The trucks currently in service were manufactured between 1987 and 1994 and were intended to only have 24-year life spans; all have passed that age. The trucks built by Oshkosh are estimated to be delivering mail by 2023.
The NGDVs that Oshkosh will build will include both battery-electric vehicles and low-emission internal-combustion-engine vehicles, both of which will be able to be retrofitted to keep up with the latest EV tech. They will also have air conditioning and airbags—both of which the current trucks lack—as well as heat, a 360-degree camera, a front and rear collision avoidance system, and automated emergency braking.
Oshkosh agreed to what is called an indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract, meaning that the USPS will be able to order more of the vehicles throughout the 10-year contract. During that time, the contract stipulates that the USPS will order anywhere between 50,000 and 165,000 of the vehicles.
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