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Two years in the past this month, I noticed my first Amazon Prime Rivian electrical supply van (lead determine of this text) simply throughout my avenue. The driving force stated he cherished the brand new van and was form sufficient to pose for footage and present me inside. He stated Amazon already had ~100 electrical supply vans working out of their distribution middle simply north of us in American Fork, Utah. These are among the first 20,000 of the 100,000 electrical supply vans that Amazon has on order from Rivian. I’ve seen Amazon Prime Rivian electrical supply vans round my neighborhood almost daily since. Amazon is unquestionably the trade chief in conversion to electrical supply vans.
I’ve a buddy working for Amazon within the Charlotte, North Carolina, space and his crew is driving primarily Rivian electrical vans there as nicely. The picture beneath reveals a van loaded with packages at an Amazon success middle there.
The subsequent picture reveals two variations of the Amazon Prime Rivian electrical vans in operation in Charlotte.
The next picture reveals two Amazon vans exchanging packages.
The subsequent picture reveals a lineup of Amazon Prime Rivian electrical supply vans charging in Charlotte, North Carolina. You possibly can see there’s a charger for every van. These are actually stage 2 chargers that are simply quick sufficient to provide every van an in a single day cost in order that they will all begin the workday with a full cost and sufficient energy to do their complete route that day.
The opposite electrical van at present in service is the brand new USPS automobile proven within the subsequent picture.
In any other case, what’s the present state of supply van know-how within the US? The UPS, FedEx, and USPS vans that I see in my neighborhood in northern Utah are outdated know-how gasoline vans as proven within the determine beneath. Take into account that Amazon Prime solely makes use of their very own vans in metropolitan areas the place they’ve a whole lot of deliveries. They contract out to UPS or the USPS in rural areas. One other consideration is what autos the USPS makes use of. USPS solely makes use of its personal autos in metropolitan areas. In rural northern Wisconsin the place we spend our summers, the USPS contracts out to people who use their non-public autos to make deliveries.
The USPS has greater than 200,000 Grumman “Long Life” gasoline autos, launched in 1987 as proven within the righthand panel of the earlier determine. The earliest of those vans have already exceeded their anticipated 25 12 months service life by 13 years. They’re insupportable for the postal staff in sizzling climates in the summertime as a result of they don’t have any air con. As they grow old, these autos change into an increasing number of tough to take care of, as components are almost inconceivable to acquire.
On December 20, 2022, the US Postal Service (USPS) announced “an historic $9.6 billion investment over the next five years to electrify its delivery fleet. The USPS investment includes electrifying 75% of its new purpose-built Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDV) and a commitment to acquire 100% electric NGDVs starting in 2026. This $9.6 billion investment includes $3 billion in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.”
On February 28, 2023, “the United States Postal Service awarded contracts (…) for 9,250 commercially available left-hand drive (LHD) battery electric vehicles (BEVs) as well as initial orders for more than 14,000 charging stations to be deployed at Postal Service facilities. These awards are consistent with the vehicle electrification strategy announced by USPS in December of 2022. After a competitive search, the Postal Service (also) awarded a contract to purchase a total of 9,250 Ford E-Transit Battery Electric Vehicles. Delivery of the vehicles is intended to commence in December of this year.”
One would have anticipated this to be a no brainer: Purchase off-the-shelf Ford E-Transit vans. Nevertheless, it’s not working as a result of demand for Ford E-transit vans is off the charts from different patrons as nicely. The picture beneath reveals a Ford E-Transit BEV van that has been bought by Amazon.
The USPS has contracted with Oshkosh Protection Inc. in South Carolina to exchange these vans with a model new custom-designed automobile (the New Technology Supply Automobile) as proven within the sixth determine above. Initially, USPS was going to exchange them primarily with gasoline autos. Nevertheless, with strain from the Biden administration and others, it was determined that 80% could be electrical autos. In keeping with the Washington Publish: “Defense contractor Oshkosh had only delivered 93 trucks by November (2024) compared to 3,000 originally expected by now. USPS is slated to purchase 60,000 of these in the coming years at a cost of around $10 billion. Unfortunately, Ford E-Transit deliveries aren’t up to snuff, either. USPS has reportedly ordered around 5,000 E-Transit vans, but has only received a fraction of that thus far. The delays put Biden’s climate goals at risk.”
With the Trump administration due shortly to take workplace, these procurements of EVs are in jeopardy. The few autos which have been delivered have been delivered to the USPS in Athens, Georgia. I’ve seen none of those new EVs in Utah or on my cross-country travels.
What’s incorrect with current-technology USPS Grumman Lengthy Life Automobile vans:
- Some are already 13 years past their projected lifetime, and are actually tough and costly to take care of.
- Hearth susceptible.
- Rear wheel drive solely. Very tough to handle in snowy climate in hilly nation.
- No air con (inconceivable for the drivers in sizzling climates in summer season).
- Not tall sufficient: Postal staff should bend over when making ready deliveries within the van.
- Small cargo functionality.
- Very inefficient (9 miles/gallon.
Benefits of recent Oshkosh Protection Electrical Vans over present vans:
- New autos with present electrical know-how, a lot simpler and cheaper to take care of.
- No oil adjustments, no emission inspection, no exhaust system repairs, nearly no transmission repairs, nearly no brake repairs.
- Air con (particularly essential for summer season in hotter climates).
- 4-wheel (dual-motor) drive for northern climates.
- Taller rear field the place drivers can rise up whereas making ready mail.
- A lot much less hearth susceptible (opposite to in style perception).
- Extraordinarily environment friendly: Seize power on deceleration in fixed cease & go operation.
- In a single day cost: Begin every day with sufficient vary to do all the route.
- Airbags
- 360-degree cameras.
- Blind-spot monitoring.
- Collision sensors.
- Anti-lock brakes.
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