Electric mail vans just make sense, and a heavily electrified USPS fleet could save taxpayers billions over the lifespan of the vehicles. However, they’re also controversial, and the current administration wants to get rid of them ASAP. Turns out, that’s not happening — at least, not through the avenues the administration expected to use — thanks to the senate parliamentarian.
Speaking of challenges facing EVs, it might soon be illegal to hardwire in your own Level 2 charging station, and homeowners might turn to a workaround with some added risk. On the plus side, it turns out that EV battery packs are degrading slower than ever, a tidbit of good news in all of this. Oh, and the UAW’s in hot water for something new.
This issue of The Morning Dump is a bit late, and that’s on me. However, I hope you’re still able to grab a cup of something caffeinated, possibly even some lunch this late in the day, and peruse some bite-sized tidbits of automotive news.
The Plan To Scrap Electric Mail Vans Is On Ice For Now
The USPS currently has around 7,200 electric vehicles, some of which are Ford e-Transit cargo vans that anyone can buy, and some of which are electric variants of Oshkosh’s purpose-built Next-Generation Delivery Vehicle. Delivery by electric vehicle is a great concept with low running costs, but it seems the current administration wants to force USPS to ditch its electric mail vans. Why get rid of them? Well, it’s a $3 billion program and it has has faced delays, though it’s possible part of the rationale is ideologically driven. Via Reuters:
Senate Republicans argued scrapping EVs would “focus USPS on delivering mail and not achieving the environmental aims pushed by the Biden administration.”
Those who are dealing with procurement and use of these electric delivery vehicles don’t seem particularly happy about this movement, partly because hundreds of millions of dollars have already been spent on plug-in vans, partly because removing them would leave USPS with a serious shortfall, and partly because the electric mail vans actually seem modern and seem to work, as Reuters reports:
USPS warned on June 13 that scrapping the electric vehicles would cost it $1.5 billion, including $1 billion to replace its current fleet of EVs and $500 million in EV infrastructure rendered useless and “seriously cripple our ability to replace an aging and obsolete delivery fleet.”
Efforts to scrap the postal service’s electric vehicle fleet have been at least stalled for now thanks to the Parliamentarian of the Senate, a position that’s only existed since 1935, and has only even been filled by six people. Among other interpretative duties, the Parliamentarian decides whether a budget clause objected to under the Byrd Rule will require a supermajority to pass, or whether it can be approved by a simple majority. From Reuters:
Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, whose role is to ensure lawmakers follow proper legislative procedure, said a provision to force the sale could not be approved via a simple majority vote in the Republican-controlled chamber and will instead need a 60-vote supermajority, according to Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee.
Given the split of the Senate, it’s unlikely a 60-vote supermajority to make USPS scrap its EVs would be reached. However, it’s worth noting that the role of senate parliamentarian is largely an advisory one. The Vice President, being President of the Senate, can theoretically overrule the parliamentarian’s guidance, and the Senate majority leader can fire the parliamentarian. This certainly isn’t over, but this recent ruling seems to give electric vans the upper hand for now.
From a practical perspective, local mail delivery is just about the perfect application for an electric vehicle. We’re talking about a job with glacial average vehicle speeds, more stops than the door hardware section at Lowes, often relatively short routes, and a central depot to return to. It’s a good enough use case that private sector couriers like FedEx and UPS are giving electric mail vans a shot for city routes, so why not the United States Postal Service?
It May Soon Be Illegal To Install Your Own EV Charging Station
If you’re particularly handy around the house and want to install an EV charging station, you might want to do so soon. Motor Trend reports that under the recently approved 2026 edition of the National Electrical Code, new language means anyone wanting to have a hardwired charging station at home will soon have to pay a professional to install it, along with pulling permits and all that jazz. From Motor Trend:
The change stems from a new addition to the 2026 NEC that reads, “Permanently installed electric vehicle power transfer system equipment shall be installed by qualified persons.” As proposed and ratified, the 2026 NEC defines a qualified person in vague terms likely to be interpreted by states and code enforcement departments to mean a licensed electrician.
The problem with the proposed language is that making do-it-yourself installations illegal doesn’t necessarily stop homeowners from doing their own electrical work. It does guarantee, however, that any EV chargers put in by amateurs will be installed without the appropriate permit and the accompanying safety inspection.
Since the Motor Trend story went live, the National Fire Protection Association has ratified the clause, meaning that once the new code is adopted by individual states, residents of those states will need to hire a professional electrician to install a hardwired Level 2 charging setup at some.
However, there is likely a workaround here. Considering the wording pertains to “Permanently installed electric vehicle power transfer system equipment,” a homeowner installing a UL-listed, GCFI-equipped NEMA 14-50 socket, getting it checked over and okayed by an electrician, and then plugging a NEMA 14-50-compatible Level 2 charger into that socket should be legal, but that comes with extra risk.
In this Reddit thread discussing the issue, several users report issues with inexpensive 14-50 sockets, including one who wrote “I have first hand experience of melting a cheap 14-50 at least, so if this rule leads to more people doing that to avoid hardwiring it would reduce safety like the counter argument in the article states.”
Study Claims Most EV Battery Packs Should Outlast The Cars They’re In
One common concern the public has with EVs is how long the battery packs will actually last. By now, early modern EVs are more than a decade old, and for every Model S with crazy mileage on its original pack, there seems to be a story of a BMW i3 or Nissan Leaf with serious battery degradation. However, battery tech has done anything but stand still over the past ten years or so. Telematics firm Geotab recently released an updated edition of its EV battery health study involving data from 10,000 cars, and the report states that battery degradation has improved significantly.
When we analysed EV battery health in 2019, we found that EV batteries degraded, on average, at a rate of 2.3% per year. However, a new 2024 analysis reveals a significant improvement: EV batteries now degrade at an average of 1.8% per year. This improvement highlights ongoing advancements in battery technology and durability.
According to Geotab research, EV batteries could last 20 years or more if degradation continues at this improved rate. This is particularly encouraging for fleet operators under pressure to reduce CO2 emissions.
Sounds good, right? Well, mostly. There’s math to be done here, and the numbers tell a positive story with one caveat, so let’s start with the upside. The general threshold for degradation under most warranties is about 80 percent of a pack’s original capacity, and if newer packs lose an average of 1.8 percent of original usable capacity every year (it’s not linear, to be clear), that 80 percent capacity threshold won’t be hit until the average EV is 12 years old. That’s not bad considering the average light-duty vehicle on American roads is 12.6 years old according to S&P Global, and that’s average age, not median age. If I were to hazard a guess, the median age would likely trend lower because classics only make up a tiny portion of the fleet but can definitely skew averages.
However, there is a bit of a downside here, and that’s the potential for those in the hooptie end of the market to be somewhat left behind. See, extend the timeline out to 20 years, and the Geotab study suggests the average battery pack will have 64 percent of its original usable capacity by then. That would essentially result in a 36 percent haircut in range, something hybrid and purely combustion-powered cars don’t suffer from when they’re two decades old. Even among staff here, many of us daily drive cars that are around that age, so if that 1.8 percent-per-year loss of original capacity does prove to extrapolate out, hooptie EVs might have limited appeal compared to hooptie hybrids.
[Ed Note: I’m hopeful that this rate flattens out substantially over time, and that my 2021 BMW i3’s battery will last longer than 20 years. -DT].
Another UAW Scandal
Remember in 2023, when United Auto Workers went on strike for better deals that rolled back some of the cuts made during the Great Recession? Well, striking can be expensive, and the UAW pulled funds out of its investment portfolio to cover them. However, Reuters reports that the UAW didn’t re-invest according to policy following this re-allocation of funds for more than a year, and the union could’ve missed out on $80 million according to UAW board members because of this; from Reuters:
UAW investment policy calls for keeping about 30% of its money in stocks, 53% fixed income and 17% alternative investments, according to three union sources and the documents.
The board voted to liquidate about $340 million in stock investments in August 2023 to pay strike costs, according to a union document reviewed by Reuters. The wording of the vote stipulated that the money be reinvested according to union policy after the strike ended and the labor contracts were ratified, though it didn’t specify how quickly.
But almost none of its portfolio was invested in stocks during the year after the strike began in September 2023, according to the records reviewed by Reuters. The news agency was unable to establish why the stock investment wasn’t made.
In February 2025, union staff conducted an analysis that showed the union might have earned $80 million more if its portfolio had been invested according to union policy, according to a document viewed by Reuters.
This irregularity is now being investigated by the feds, and word of it comes at a trying time for the union. Not only has organization momentum weakened over the past year, including failing to organize Mercedes-Benz’s plant in Alabama, but there’s currently another scandal around a dispute between union president Shawn Fein and secretary-treasurer Margaret Mock. Organization often gets workers better pay and conditions, yet allegations like this don’t bolster confidence in the UAW because infighting affects both productivity and image.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
“Y Control” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is just a great song, isn’t it? Twinkling guitars, driving drums, and some seriously great lyricism all add up to a timeless track. I mean, just think about the line “I wish I could buy back the woman you stole” for a second.
The Big Question:
Have you seen any electric mail vans out and about? What do you think of them?
Top graphic credit: USPS
Just another piece of evidence in an infinitely long list that illustrates that everything Trump supporters have zero interest in doing things well and only care about causing other people pain. It is their entire personality.
My son is a USPS mechanic in California and they have been pushing back training for these EVs ever since they were announced. They stopped scrapping LLVs en masse over a year ago and have raised the threshold at which they are mechanically totalled and scrapped.
Well, like so much in this country, it’s gotten excessively politicized. Including the Trump appoint of Louis DeJoy, a GOP donor, five years ago.
Sure, he owned a logistics business before taking office but was the first postmaster general in almost 20 years who was not a career postal employee.
He recently resigned and it will be interesting to see who replaces him, but given the current administration, I wouldn’t expect them to be any more EV-friendly. In fact, the opposite.
In extremely rural areas with very long routes, ICE vehicles make sense, but everywhere else, it seems like EVs would be more economical.
Disclaimer: I am not USPS employee, never have been and no longer have to manage fleets of vehicles.
(1-.018)^20 = .695, not the .64 remaining in the article.
I would love to have an EV for my route. I’m about 100 miles a day, but 600 plus stops!
Currently doing it in a RHD wrangler, and it works wonderful and I love it. BUT I’m burning up around 10 gallons of fuel a day, I do oil changes every month and a half. I replace brake pads every 4 months, rotors twice a year.
So right around 800 ish a month averaged out to run this thing. If there were an EV with RHD and decent cargo space that could do around 150 miles and be bought for 25ish grand, I’d save money even with a car payment, and be waaaaay better for the environment.
Kinda itching for the slate to come out, if it comes to market with the front bench, I might be able to make it work.
In my area USPS uses ancient LLVs, Amazon uses Rivian vans, and UPS uses diesel step vans.
Same mix where I live… near Seattle. Oh, and the USPS uses some Dodge/RAM ProMaster vans for parcel delivery.
USPS Uses the Mercedes vans here, but Amazon is almost exclusively the Rivian van. IMO Electric is the perfect choice for 3/4 of my post office’s delivery routes
So much for rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. It’s a waste ditching perfectly good mail vehicles that will more than pay for the premium over ICE vehicles in saved fuel costs over their lifetime.
I wonder how invested the Senators who proposed that are in FedEx and UPS. Someone ought to check for fraud and abusing their position for personal enrichment. Oh wait, that will happen on February 30th.
I’ve not seen one in my area. but I think Duh, of course they should be EV.
Really, think how much mileage a local-delivery mail truck puts in per day. can’t be more than 200 miles. They average 20mph most of the time, for an 8-hour shift. Why not an EV? Longer-haul ones, sure, hybridize those puppies.
I have a electric dryer plug near the garage not being used (we have a gas dryer). I wouldn’t do the work myself, as I have a friend who is a professional and I know what kind of wine he likes.
Because politics. That is why we can’t have nice things.
True. USPS could also have slowly and unnoticeably bought these over time to replace whatever needs to be replaced, instead of noticeably all at once (Don’t get the volume discount, though.)
UAW leadership fumbling? No! *shock*
We just have the old ass LLVs and some rebadged Mercedes vans. There’s the occasional Jeep/CRV with right-hand drive installed on it though.
In Ontario the rule has been that if you are a homeowner, you can do your own electrical, but it has to be ESA inspected. If your work is good and to code, the inspection is painless. About 20 years back I gutted my house for a full reno. I rewired everything, including new panel and service. I pulled out every last trace of the 1920’s wiring.
When the inspector arrived he looked around, went back to his car to get his digital camera and started taking pictures. He said “obviously done by an amateur”. I thought, what could I have done wrong? I asked him and he said “I have never seen a licensed electrician do work this neat or well though out”, and continued to take pictures. He wanted to show them to his colleagues. I just said, well, my family is living here.
I know several electricians, some commercial, some residential as well as an instructor of structured wiring courses. All have confirmed he was probably right.
If I recall that inspection cost about $250, so basically nothing. Even if it were $2000 today, well worth it to get everything safe. Also, I sent the certificate to my insurance company and got that back and more in a reduced rate.
I have to open a basement wall to reconfigure an area. It is where I would at some point need to run power to where I would want to have a charger. An EV is in the distant future for me so I don’t know what charger I will need. Not to mention most EV options are too big to fit in the parking area I would want to charge in. I’m either going to run conduit, or probably fill the conduit and terminate it in a blank box or an NEMA outlet. I’ll leave it disconnected from the panel until the time comes. I could plug a charger in or hardwire to the same box on that day. Even if I get an electrician to complete the job, the expensive and time consuming part of having the drop chased will be done.
Also, I so desperately want city garbage trucks to electrify. Stinking noisy diesels that never leave first gear anyway. The ultimate regenerative braking application.
While i agree with you, the electric ones will stink as well…. Especially in the summer
ours were the first: https://www.cpr.org/2024/10/09/louisville-launches-the-nations-first-ev-garbage-and-recycling-fleet/
That’s pretty much how it works here, too (Delaware), except we have to have the work plans reviewed and approved by a licensed electrical inspector before starting any work, and then have an inspector come in and certify it after
Although, as a practical matter, what you do in the privacy of your own home, to your own home, can’t really be controlled if it isn’t visible by drone or from the street, not following permitting procedures is more of a problem when it comes time to sell your house
I like the Rivian Amazon Vans. I honestly don’t hate any of the vans or even school busses that might be better to be electric, though I have seen The amazon vans sitting at a HyVee connected to a charger while the driver is sitting around smoking….waiting….that tells me the setup is not all gumdrops and Lemonade.
?Model S with crazy mileage? this is a mixed bag. generally like the news depending on your view of the push for EV’s means you will find examples on either side that backup your views.
Hoover’s 2013 Model S P85. The electric vehicle, which was four months out of battery warranty, started to display a “maximum battery charge level reduced” error message and couldn’t be charged above 50 miles. I think that car had but 85K miles on it or something.
On the other side, there is the former tesla Taxi Model S that once the 12V battery was replaced, seemed to work just fine for the new owners in England. That one was closer to 300K miles.
No EV delivery vehicles here. Still LLVs bringing the mail, and various gas powered vans for Amazon. Standard FedEx and UPS trucks that look the same as they always have. I even saw a Ford E-series van that must have been 15+ years old with an Amazon magnet on the side. It had the old corporate face, before the big chrome grille facelift. Usually they just rent vans, so I have no idea where it came from.
Edit: forgot that Amazon also has people making deliveries with their personal vehicles, so that’s probably the story behind the van.
Still ancient LLVs in my little NJ town. I can hear them before I see them. Considering how high my property taxes are, I wonder what they’re wasting money on instead of investing in BEV mail trucks.
I think it’s a good idea to prevent people from potentially killing themselves trying their hand at electrical work after only watching a YouTube video. Thankfully, I lucked out with our house. The laundry room is directly behind the garage, so we bought a $300 Split Volt and a $60 adapter and ran the cable through the wall to charge our EV. No expensive electrician needed!
Property taxes are local. Most of it goes to city and school district labor costs, and the biggest driver of increases is health insurance.
Oops, you’re right. I stand corrected. My taxes are still too damned high, though.
Property taxes and the USPS have absolutely zero to do with each other.