Ford wins US Postal Service contract to supply 9,250 E-Transits as electric mail trucks
The US Postal Service will purchase 9,250 off-the-shelf Ford E-Transits in its push to move towards electric delivery vehicles, with deliveries beginning at the end of this year.
USPS has recently been flirting with electrification as it plans to replace its 30+ year-old fleet of Grumman LLVs. The bidding process took several years, and originally the contract was offered to Oshkosh, a defense contractor, with a commitment to purchase a measly 10% electric vehicles. The other 90% would be gas-guzzling trucks which get as little as 8.6mpg, about the same as the original Grumman LLVs.
The decision was met with much backlash, with lawsuits from several organizations and was questioned by Congress. Over time, this pressure caused USPS to gradually increase the intended electric percentage.
Then the Inflation Reduction Act was passed, with $3 billion in funding specifically for USPS electrification. As of December 2022, the plan stands at buying 100% electric trucks by 2026, and 75% from now until then.
But beyond the planned electric mix, there was also the question of which vehicles would be purchased. Several bids were for purpose-built vehicles, but after Oshkosh’s bid was accepted, more questions arose over whether purpose-built vehicles from a single manufacturer would allow the USPS to scale implementation quickly enough.
Many thought that it would be reasonable to include off-the-shelf delivery vehicles in the mix, such that USPS wouldn’t be reliant on a single manufacturer, and could purchase trucks that are already in production. So, as part of USPS’ December plan, it announced it would purchase 21,000 “commercial off-the-shelf” electric vehicles to help accelerate electrification plans.
Today’s announcement is the first of those contracts, which has been won by Ford. The 9,250 vehicles supplied by Ford will be part of the announced 21,000 off-the-shelf purchased by USPS.
In addition, USPS announced today that it will purchase 14,000 EV charging stations to be installed at its locations to charge future electric trucks.
The USPS is the federal government’s largest fleet, consisting of about 225,000 vehicles, which President Biden promised to electrify just days after becoming president.
Electrek’s Take
Despite our initial disappointment with USPS’ first steps in their electrification announcement, it feels like we’ve finally gotten to the correct endpoint.
While not every delivery truck will be electric – there will still be perhaps 10-20% of the fleet running on gas, once all these purchases shake out over the course of the next several years – the USPS will be electric-first and that’s just what we need. Postal workers won’t have to deal with stinky shaky old vehicles and all of us will get better air in our communities and less climate emissions.
It’s understandable that a few trucks may remain on gas, those with difficult routes or where electrification isn’t quite financially viable due to exceptional circumstances. But considering Svalbard Post has figured out how to go all-electric within the Arctic Circle, we think those use cases will be vanishingly few.
So today’s announcement is a big step forward for USPS, a big win for Ford, and a big win for all of us.
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America’s best-selling electric pickup may be headed for the chopping block. According to sources, Ford is now considering killing off the F-150 Lightning.
Is Ford canceling the F-150 Lightning electric pickup?
After Ford halted production of the electric pickup at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, earlier this year, it may never return to the assembly line.
Ford announced during its third-quarter earnings that F-150 Lightning production would remain paused after a fire at Novelis’ plant in New York disrupted aluminum supply.
The company said it would focus on gas and hybrid trucks, which are more profitable and require less aluminum.
According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, Ford’s electric pickup may be as good as dead. Citing sources close to the matter, the WSJ report claims Ford is now considering scrapping the F-150 Lightning altogether.
The move comes after Ford’s electric vehicle business, Model e, lost another $1.4 billion in Q3. Ford’s EV unit has now lost $3.6 billion through the first nine months of 2025.
Around $3 billion of the loss is due to its current EVs, such as the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E. The other $600 million is for investments in next-gen electric models.
Ford is shifting to smaller, more affordable electric cars with its Universal EV platform. The flexible, low-cost platform is key to unlocking more affordable EVs, which will start at around $30,000.
The first vehicle on the platform is expected to be a midsize electric pickup, similar in size to the Ford Maverick or Ranger. It’s set to roll out sometime in 2027.
CEO Jim Farley said during the company’s Q3 earnings call that $30,000 EVs are “not a distant plan,” adding they are “right around the corner” at Ford.
The F-150 Lightning is still America’s best-selling electric pickup, after Ford sold a record 10,000+ in Q3. Through October, Ford sold 24,577 F-150 Lightnings, slightly less than the 24,670 sold during the same period in 2024.
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In the spirit of SEMA week, Stellantis’ Chinese EV brand Leapmotor is getting some tuner cred from the German performance experts at Irmscher, delivering a 590 hp compact EV that should play well in both the Asian and European street scenes.
European regulators may be slapping heavier tariffs on Chinese EVs in an attempt to slow them down, but automakers like Stellantis-owned Leapmotor finding new ways to build momentum. The latest proof of that is a new, limited-edition Leapmotor i C10 SUV that was developed in and for the Chinese market, but that’s had its edge sharpened up for European roads through a partnership with German tuner Irmscher.
It’s another clear signal that Chinese brands are ready to play the long game in Europe, and they’re doing it by appealing directly to the continent’s performance heritage and partnering with known and respected brands.
The first results of what is being called a long-term partnership is the Leapmotor i C10 by Irmscher, a limited run, 250 unit sports crossover built for the German market — and, with nearly six hundred hp on tap, the German autobahn, too!
The Irmscher version of the i C10 features a more prominent rear spoiler and a new set of five-spoke alloy wheels wrapped in low-profile, high-performance rubber, sure, but the real magic lies beneath the car’s skin.
Irmscher has fitted a firmer suspension setup specifically engineered to sharpen the SUV’s handling, making it more suited to the Leapmotor’s already potent, dual-motor AWD powertrain. That powertrain remains largely unchanged, offering a hefty 590 hp (440 kW) for a zippy 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) sprints in under 4 seconds.
Built to move
The electric motors get power from an 81.9 kWh li-ion battery pack, good for an estimated range of 437 km (272 miles), positioning it as a performance-oriented variant of the standard crossover rather than a long-distance tourer (and, yes, I know what “GT” stands for, I’m just choosing to ignore the baked-in irony).
Priced from €49,900 in Germany (about $57,600 US, as I type this), the Irmscher i C10 commands a €5,000 premium over the standard flagship C10, but the pricing strategy is just as calculated as the Irmscher partnership itself.
By pricing the car well into Mercedes and BMW territory, Stellantis is showing that its Chinese-developed EVs aren’t just competing on cost alone. So, while the tariffs aim to protect the European car brands in their home markets by raising their prices, Leapmotor and Irmscher are betting that European drivers will willingly pay more for a Chinese EV that delivers authentic performance.
Take a look at the photos provided, below, and let us know what you think of Leapmotor’s chances in the comments.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Stellantis; via CarScoops.
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Canadian heavy equipment dealer Nors and Volvo CE are kicking off the season of giving early, handing over the keys to a brand-new Volvo L25 Electric compact wheel loader to Habitat for Humanity!
Volvo CE’s donation to Habitat for Humanity Greater Toronto Area (Habitat GTA) marks the nonprofit’s first-ever electric construction machine. The asset will be put to work immediately on a 30-home affordable housing project in Brampton as a quiet, zero-emission alternative to diesel for the site’s preparation.
For the volunteers and staff at Habitat GTA, that fantasy of a quiet, fume-free job site is now a reality. “Much of our equipment is older than some of our volunteers” admitted Ene Underwood, CEO of Habitat GTA. This makes the electric Volvo loader a massive leap forward for the volunteers, proving that electric machines are ready to do real work right now, even for organizations operating on tight budgets — but you shouldn’t mistake the decision as pure charity.
The L25 Electric donation is just an opening salvo for Nors’ new “Compact Solutions, Community Impact” marketing campaign, and the company has already committed to donating two more Volvo CE electric machines to worthy organizations across Canada. “We’re … helping build a better world for future generations,” said Paul George of Nors.
It’s a smart PR play, for sure, but it’s also a powerful, real-world demonstration program that puts its money where its mouth is and directly tackles the, “but I’ve never seen one!” barrier to battery electric equipment adoption.
As far as equipment goes, the Volvo L25 Electric is perfect for the infill development and residential lots where Habitat builds. As Agako Nouch of Volvo CE pointed out, the loader eliminates the noise and air quality issues that are major headaches when building in existing neighborhoods. It’s an example of how electrification can fundamentally improve the relationship between construction sites and the communities they serve.
Nors is inviting Canadians to nominate other nonprofits or municipalities that could benefit from an electric excavator or wheel loader. It’s a public consultation, not a contest, and the final two recipients will be announced on December 16th. It’s a genuine chance to put more electric iron to work where it can do the most good.
Electrek’s Take
A new, turbocharged section 179 in the US tax code means it’s a great time to buy some electric equipment assets for your construction fleet, and with these Volvo wheel loaders proving themselves day in and day out on job sites like these, in the cold AND heat of Toronto, you can be sure they’ll do your job, wherever that is.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Volvo CE.
If you drive an electric vehicle, make charging at home fast, safe, and convenient with a Level 2 charger installed by Qmerit. As the nation’s most trusted EV charger installation network, Qmerit connects you with licensed, background-checked electricians who specialize in EV charging. You’ll get a quick online estimate, upfront pricing, and installation backed by Qmerit’s nationwide quality guarantee. Their pros follow the highest safety standards so you can plug in at home with total peace of mind.
Ready to charge smarter? Get started today with Qmerit (trusted affiliate).
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