USPS Sued By Workhorse For The 60 Billion USD Oshkosh Deal

Back in February, a deal for up to 165.000 postal trucks has been awarded by the U.S. Postal Service. The USD 6 billion deal went to Oshkosh, which did not manage to make the internet happy with the new van’s looks. 

Another contractor that manifested interest but did not get the deal is Workhorse, known as Amp Electric Vehicles. Now, Workhorse has sued the postal office, claiming that the terms of the deal weren’t very fair. The company also claims that its electric vehicles were much more suitable to replace nowadays Grumman Long Life Vehicles. 

On the other hand, we cannot say anything about it, since no contractual information can be unveiled. At least that is what Workhorse claims in its media statement. Anonymous sources say that it’s all about the level of electrification USPS would be interested in. The February announcement was speaking about electric vehicles but gas-powered cars are still part of USPS. This is where Workhorse comes and says that the Post was never really interested in their offer since it was based on electric cars.

Louis DeJoy, however, states on behalf of USPS that only 10% of the vehicles bought by the Post shall be electric. Meanwhile, Workhorse is asking for a preliminary injunction to halt the procurement process. 

Oshkosh hasn’t made any statements on the matter but did claim on other occasions that it is capable of replacing the gas-powered powertrain with an electric one. It all seems in a research phase, for now, as the company seems to be only exploring these options and doesn’t seem to have the necessary finances to do it.

No matter the outcome, the USPS fleet must be completely upgraded, as the current one has been built in the period from 1987 to 1994. The vehicles should have been retired already.