zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Culture
/
The U.S. Government's Entire 645,000-Vehicle Fleet Will Go All-Electric
The U.S. Government's Entire 645,000-Vehicle Fleet Will Go All-Electric-February 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:12:29

Image for article titled The U.S. Government's Entire 645,000-Vehicle Fleet Will Go All-Electric

The United States government operates a fleet of about 645,000 vehicles, from mail delivery trucks to military vehicles and passenger cars. On Monday, President Joe Biden announced that his administration intends to replace them all with American-made, electric alternatives.

Biden shared the plan as part of a press conference detailing his “Buy American” executive order, which he said would represent “the largest mobilization of public investment and procurement, infrastructure and R&D since World War II.”

No timeline was given for when the conversion to an all-electric fleet might be completed, though Biden detailed that this would help realize his goal to create a million new jobs in the automotive sector, one he related on the campaign trail. From Monday’s conference:

“The federal government also owns an enormous fleet of vehicles, which we’re going to replace with clean electric vehicles made right here in America, by American workers, creating a million auto worker jobs in clean energy and vehicles that are net-zero emissions.”

The U.S. government’s states that its vehicles traveled 4.5 billion miles and cost more than $4.3 billion to run in 2019, the last year on record.

Between 2015 and 2019, the portion of the fleet consisting of electric vehicles has grown, though not significantly. In 2015, the government-operated 357,610 gasoline vehicles and 3,896 electric ones; in 2019, those numbers grew to 368,807 and 4,475, respectively. That’s excluding the tens of thousands of E-85 and diesel-based vehicles on the road, which, together, comprise nearly a third of the 645,047 total.

So, yeah, there’s certainly a lot of work to do, and it’s hard to imagine the changeover could even happen within Biden’s current term. Still, electric vehicle manufacturers and their investors are likely salivating at the opportunity, as reports shares of Tesla, Workhorse, and Lordstown were all up between four and nine percent in pre-market trading on Tuesday.

The Biden administration’s plan bears special significance to the United States Postal Service, which currently operates well over 100,000 Northrop Grumman Long Life Vehicles manufactured between 1987 and 1994. Last year, reported that 407 LLVs had been damaged or destroyed in fires since 2014, and investigators were unable to determine why. Age is suspected to be the culprit, especially because the USPS only expected to use these trucks for 24 years on average.

Which trucks will replace them? That’s not yet clear, though there are a number of companies out there focusing on electric commercial vehicles champing at the bit to ink the contract, including Workhorse, which formally entered a bid last year according to .

That’s to say nothing of established American automakers, like Ford and General Motors, that could fight for a slice of the pie. The Blue Oval revealed its all-electric replacement for its Transit van, the , late last year, which targets a greatly reduced cost of ownership compared to gas-powered vans. Then there’s GM’s , which is already courting private delivery companies like FedEx.

It’s hard to be overly enthusiastic about this initiative without specifics, though to even hear a U.S. President say it in the first place is moderately comforting. Let’s see how it plays out.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Culture
Semi Truck Deaths Keep Climbing
Semi Truck Deaths Keep Climbing
We talk a lot about the of , and their on . But pickups, no matter how big or how heavy, do not compare to the true apex predators of American roadways: Tractor trailers. New data from the NHTSA, via the , shows massive upswings in fatalities caused by...
Feb 16, 2026
Nissan Wants To Sell You A Cheap Electric Sports Car
Nissan Wants To Sell You A Cheap Electric Sports Car
For decades Nissan has built its backbone around enthusiasts with at least three sports cars in its lineup. The , while , and the brand has typically had an inexpensive sporty car, like the 240SX, Pulsar, or Sentra SE-R, to sell to younger enthusiasts. Looking at Nissan’s lineup today,...
Feb 16, 2026
Celebrate Halloween with Duel, The Scariest Car Movie Of All Time
Celebrate Halloween with Duel, The Scariest Car Movie Of All Time
When you think of , you’re probably thinking of huge summer blockbuster cultural touchstones like , E.T. and What you probably don’t think about is a 40-year-old made-for-TV movie with very little dialogue and an 18-wheeler as the main antagonist. But you’re missing out. Duel is Spielberg’s first movie,...
Feb 16, 2026
Cops Claim Suspect Threw Molotov Cocktail From Car During Chase
Cops Claim Suspect Threw Molotov Cocktail From Car During Chase
We’ve all, at some point in our lives, dreamed of playing a . Racing through winding roads, jockeying for position with competitors, tossing powerups fore and aft. Of course, we don’t have in real life, but one San Francisco driver has allegedly found a suitable substitute: A Molotov cocktail....
Feb 16, 2026
Runaway Truck Tire Nearly Slices Car In Two
Runaway Truck Tire Nearly Slices Car In Two
A couple driving on came dangerously close to disaster when came smashing through their car. Dan and Meredith Wronikowski had their car almost split in two by as it careened through their car on the highway last week. The couple, from Clinton Township, was driving along the Eastbound I-696 highway...
Feb 16, 2026
Florida Man Cited Yet Again For Impersonating A Highway Patrol Car
Florida Man Cited Yet Again For Impersonating A Highway Patrol Car
Robert Bohan, a 60-year-old resident of Tampa, FL, insists that his Crown Victoria is just fine, but disagrees. See, Bohan’s car is painted up in the same black and tan livery used by the FHP, and they’re not all too impressed by the notion that this fella might be...
Feb 16, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved