American Oversight obtained documents from USPS that include the evaluation criteria used to select a new fleet manufacturer as well as Oshkosh’s initial contract for nearly $482 million. The evaluation criteria explicitly mentioned fuel efficiency and a “path to alternate fuel vehicles” among the factors USPS would be considering, offering yet another contrast between what observers had hoped for and Oshkosh Defense’s design, which features a fuel engine that only offers an improvement of 0.4 miles per gallon over the agency’s current fleet, according to the Post.
In its criteria, USPS stated that it would be looking at the “completeness of description and projected value of offeror’s features that focus on improving fuel economy and reducing emissions.”
USPS also said it would look at whether proposals showed a “[c]apability to develop and adapt emerging technologies … including a demonstrated path to alternative vehicles” and “improved fuel efficiency.” After USPS’s announcement of the contract, the agency claimed that the mail trucks could be “retrofitted to keep pace with advances in electric vehicle technologies” and that the design would allow USPS to switch to an electric drive train. But DeJoy and USPS have since backed off those promises, with the Post reporting that the agency’s latest environmental analysis said USPS “has no plans to retrofit any vehicles.”