A combination of factors both inside and outside of the Postal Service’s control contributed to the delays in acquiring and deploying electric vehicles under its Next Generation Delivery Vehicle project, an inspector general report has said.
“The process to select, acquire, and deploy a custom vehicle took around six years longer than the Postal Service’s initial deployment schedule for the NGDV project. It took the Postal Service more than six years to select a supplier and more than three years from awarding the contract to receiving the first production vehicles,” it said.
One reason for that delay, it said, was the decision to pursue a custom-built vehicle. “At the time of the project’s inception, the Postal Service did not identify suitable off-the-shelf alternatives on the commercial market that met its needs for a right hand drive delivery fleet. Pursuing a custom vehicle is generally more complex and time-consuming than purchasing commercially available models.”
