Photo: USPS
In February 2021, Oshkosh Defense announced it had been selected by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to make the next generation of vehicles it needs to go about its business. And given the huge number of them needed according to the contract, Oshkosh has some investments to make.
According to the multi-billion-dollar contract awarded a few months ago, Oshkosh may have to deliver between 50,000 and 165,000 vehicles over a period of ten years. The trucks, aptly called Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV), will replace the entire fleet of USPS machines, some of which are 30 years old.
Keeping in line with the current trends in the industry, the NGVDs will come both as internal combustion and fully battery electric machines. They will be built in such a way as to allow them to be “retrofitted to keep pace with advances in electric vehicle technologies.”
To handle the production needs, Oshkosh announced this week it would have to repurpose “an expansive warehouse facility in Spartanburg,” South Carolina. Production of the vehicles at the new facility is scheduled to begin in 2023, and the first examples should hit the roads the same year.
According to the specs of the NGVDs released by the manufacturer, the weirdly-shaped vans will come with air conditioning and heating, 360-degree cameras, advanced braking and traction control, airbags, and a front and rear collision avoidance system.
Compared to the current vehicles, they will have increased cargo capacity (although no specifics were provided), and they will be able to accommodate “higher package volumes stemming from the growth of eCommerce” better.
Once it has the facility in Spartanburg ready for production, the company believes it will need to hire an additional 1,000 people to handle operations there. Supply chain partners are likely to be impacted as well when it comes to personnel needs.
Keeping in line with the current trends in the industry, the NGVDs will come both as internal combustion and fully battery electric machines. They will be built in such a way as to allow them to be “retrofitted to keep pace with advances in electric vehicle technologies.”
To handle the production needs, Oshkosh announced this week it would have to repurpose “an expansive warehouse facility in Spartanburg,” South Carolina. Production of the vehicles at the new facility is scheduled to begin in 2023, and the first examples should hit the roads the same year.
According to the specs of the NGVDs released by the manufacturer, the weirdly-shaped vans will come with air conditioning and heating, 360-degree cameras, advanced braking and traction control, airbags, and a front and rear collision avoidance system.
Compared to the current vehicles, they will have increased cargo capacity (although no specifics were provided), and they will be able to accommodate “higher package volumes stemming from the growth of eCommerce” better.
Once it has the facility in Spartanburg ready for production, the company believes it will need to hire an additional 1,000 people to handle operations there. Supply chain partners are likely to be impacted as well when it comes to personnel needs.
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