The CEO of Oshkosh Corporation, a vehicle manufacturer that has an order to build 50,000 new electric delivery trucks for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), has said the company is prepared to build gas-powered vehicles instead if this is the preference of the incoming Donald Trump administration.
Speaking at the CES technology trade show in Las Vegas CEO John Pfeifer said "we'll do whatever they want us to do—supplying either gas or electric."
Newsweek contacted Oshkosh Corporation and Trump's presidential transition team for comment via online contact form and email on Wednesday outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
As president Joe Biden has been a strong supporter of electric vehicles, with the administration's keystone Inflation Reduction Act providing $3 billion to transition the USPS to an electric vehicle fleet over the next 10 years.
However, Trump has been a fierce critic of electric vehicles, which during an October 2023 speech he incorrectly said can only drive for "a half hour" before they require recharging. According to reports Trump's team has been investigating whether they can cancel the Biden administration's contracts with Oshkosh and Ford Motor Co. to provide new electric trucks for the USPS.
What To Know
Pfeifer responded to reports Trump could cancel Oshkosh's USPS electric vehicle contract at the CES show, commenting: "We'll do what they want us to do—supplying either gas or electric."
Referring to Biden's 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which provided $1.3 billion for new USPS electric vehicles and another $1.7 billion for charging stations, Pfeifer added: "A new Congress could come in and repeal, I guess, part of the IRA that hasn't been spent." Following the November 2024 elections Republicans have a majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives, though the latter in particular is very slim.
The USPS had already announced it was planning to purchase an additional 100,000 delivery vehicles by the end of 2028, of which 62 percent would be entirely electric. According to Transport Topics the USPS is the fourth biggest freight company in the world.
Pfeifer said his team hadn't been contacted by the incoming Trump administration over whether they want his company to go ahead with the construction of 50,000 new electric delivery trucks.
Whilst electric trucks cost more upfront Pfeifer argued they have lower operating costs, saying: "The postmaster general knows that's one of the keys to him turning around the financial performance of the postal service because the running costs are so much lower."
The core of the USPS's current fleet is made up of Grumman Long Life Vehicles, which date to 1987 and have already exceeded their projected 25-year lifespan.
In November Reuters reported Trump's team was planning to axe a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles once the new president takes office. Elon Musk, a close Trump supporter and CEO of electric vehicle company Tesla, said such a move "probably actually helps" his firm in the "long term."
What People Are Saying
Speaking to Bloomberg in December Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said the USPS "needs vehicles," adding: "I have 100,000 vehicles I'm buying. When I get done with that, I have another 100,000 that are way past their useful life."
In October 2024 DeJoy backed the USPS's electric truck transition, commenting: "We're moving forward in modernizing our vehicle fleet — which will bring tremendous benefits to our organization. Under our plan, letter carriers in every state will be able to deliver mail and packages using new and modern vehicles within the next five years."
Commenting on the electric vehicles Brian Renfroe, president of the National Letter Carriers Association union, said: "We're excited now to be at the point where they're starting to hit the streets."
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether comments Trump has made about electric vehicles will be reflected in policy shifts once he enters the White House, or if this was just campaign rhetoric.
Globally the popularity of electric vehicles is continuing to increase, with nearly 90 percent of new cars sold in Norway in 2024 being EVs according to the Norwegian Road Federation.
However, there are growing fears over the level of EV market share controlled by Chinese companies, which saw sales soar by 40 percent in 2024 according to industry data.
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