OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – An Ohio company says the U.S. Portal Service “put its thumb on the scale” against the company when the USPS awarded a contract for mail delivery trucks to Oshkosh Corp.
The complaint Workhorse Inc. filed last month in federal court has been unsealed. It contends that USPS awarded the contract to Oshkosh even though Oshkosh’s plan included some vehicles with internal combustion engines. The complaint says the delivery industry is moving toward all-electric vehicles, which it contends are cheaper to operate in the long run.
The complaint also argues that the vehicle selected for production was “entirely different” from the prototype Oshkosh initially offered.
The complaint also says USPS agreed to pay Oshkosh $482 million to finish developing its concept before any of the trucks were delivered. The amount of money Workhorse needs to improve its prototype is redacted.
Finally, the complaint alleges that a testing incident that injured a driver was a result of operator error, not a design flaw in Workhorse’s vehicle.
The complaint, filed in federal claims court asks the judge to invalidate the Oshkosh contract and award it to Workhorse instead.
USPS issued this statement to FOX 11 in response:
While we do not comment on active litigation, the United States Postal Service is looking forward to the start of vehicle production for our Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV). Preproduction design, tooling, and facility preparation activities are proceeding on schedule with the first NGDVs estimated to appear on carrier routes in 2023.
The Postal Service has one of the world’s largest delivery fleets which includes many vehicles that have been in service for 30 years or more. The NGDV will replace many of these vehicles, increase our capacity for handling mail and package volume growth, and will support our carriers with more efficient technologies, greater comfort and security as they deliver daily on behalf of the American people.
USPS selected Oshkosh to build the NGDV in February. The total contract is for $6 billion. Oshkosh plans to build the trucks in South Carolina.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio has called for an investigation into the contract.
Oshkosh Corp. did not immediately respond to FOX 11’s request for comment, but released this statement when the complaint was filed last month:
While bid protests are a normal part of the government contracting process, we do not comment on such proceedings. We are proud that the USPS selected Oshkosh Defense to fulfill the needs of the NGDV program and we look forward to getting these highly capable vehicles into the hands of mail carriers. The NGDV contract with Oshkosh Defense includes both zero-emission battery electric vehicles (BEV) and fuel-efficient low-emission internal combustion engine vehicles (ICE) and we have the resources and capabilities to deliver any mix the USPS orders.
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