Workhorse to Challenge Usps Contract
Electric vehicle maker Workhorse Group has announced that it is voluntarily withdrawing its lawsuit against the United States Postal Service (USPS). The June lawsuit is directed against the USPS, which gave Oshkosh Defense a multibillion-dollar contract to manufacture its next fleet of mail delivery vehicles. The new CEO of Workhorse was behind the decision to lose the protest, stressing the intention to work with the government on future electric vehicles instead of challenging them through litigation. The 10-year contract announced in February could be worth more than $6 billion in total. Workhorse had proposed building a fleet of fully electric vehicles for USPS. The Loveland-based electric cargo car maker offered no explanation in its filing Tuesday in the U.S. Federal Claims Court in Washington, D.C. In a statement, the company said it hopes to win future government contracts and that dropping the lawsuit will improve its chances. However, the replacement of the current postal vans has only become a more urgent issue. Built by defense contractor Grumman, many so-called long-life vehicles have exceeded their life expectancy.
This led them either to collapse, cost the USPS a fortune, or, in some cases, catch fire. Even durable vehicles that can stay on the road lack modern equipment such as advanced safety features and even air conditioning. The U.S. Postal Service said it was moving forward with fleet updates with Wisconsin-based truck and defense company Oshkosh. Workhorse later argued that the USPS administrative appeals violated the U.S. Constitution, the Justice Department said, but argued that “Workhorse was doing its new. Challenge it by not raising the issue with the postal service. The challenge was originally scheduled to be heard today by a judge in the U.S.
Federal Claims Court. The decision comes from new CEO Rick Dauch, who took over just six weeks ago after Workhorse failed to meet its production targets for several quarters. Electric vehicle company Workhorse Group on Tuesday voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit against a U.S. Postal Service decision to award a multibillion-dollar contract to Oshkosh Defense for delivery vehicles. Reuters reported the expected supply challenge on Wednesday, pushing its shares up more than 10%. Equities closed up 5.3% from normal in stronger-than-normal trading. The protest against the offer triggers a high-profile court battle over the contract for the next-generation mail truck and could affect how and when these vehicles switch to electric power — something President Biden has said he wants across the entire federal fleet. “While tenders are an integral part of the public procurement process, we do not comment on such procedures,” Alexandra C. Hittle, director of global marketing and communications at Oshkosh Defense, said in an email to The Verge. “We are proud that the USPS has chosen Oshkosh Defense to meet the requirements of the NGDV program, and we look forward to putting these high-performance vehicles in the hands of the postmen. The 10-year contract, announced in February, could be worth more than $6 billion and deliver 50,000 to 165,000 vehicles. Workhorse had proposed building a fleet of fully electric vehicles for USPS, while Oshkosh plans a mix of internal combustion vehicles and battery electric vehicles.
Workhorse was one of three companies that made final offers to the USPS last year and was the only one to offer to build a fully electric mail fleet. The Postal Service and Oshkosh unveiled the new vehicle in February, saying it will run on both gasoline and electric powertrains. The defense contractor said gasoline-powered vehicles will be “fuel efficient [and] low-emission,” but did not qualify those claims. Oshkosh has agreed to build between 50,000 and 165,000 trucks over 10 years, but the USPS says it needs billions of additional dollars from Congress to steer the fleet balance toward electric. Workhorse dropped its legal challenge to the U.S. Postal Service, which awarded a $6 billion fleet replacement contract to a competing bidder. Justice Department lawyers filed a motion to dismiss Workhorse Group`s challenge, saying the company had “admitted that it had not exhausted mandatory administrative remedies.” Workhorse responded by claiming that the USPS administrative remedies against the United States had been violated. Constitution, but the Department of Justice countered this argument by writing that “Workhorse has lost its new discoveries. Challenge it by not raising the issue with the postal service. A recent Reuters report reported that Workhorse Group had in fact dismissed its lawsuit against the USPS for its decision to award its fleet renovation contract to Oshkosh Corp.
Justice Department lawyers filed a motion in July to dismiss Workhorse`s challenge, citing the “admitted failure to exhaust mandatory administrative remedies,” according to court documents. Oshkosh filed a similar application. But of the options that were on Workhorse`s table, this one could prove to be the most effective in helping the company`s legal team understand why the USPS chose Oshkosh. “You`re going to see everything, the whole file, how [the bids] were evaluated, the price rating,” a person familiar with the postal service`s contracting process told The Verge earlier this year. However, this process will likely take place under a protection order, so Workhorse`s lawyers can ultimately only tell the company whether or not they have a good chance of winning. Oshkosh said he was still in the process of completing the design of the new vehicle and they wouldn`t hit the road until 2023. The USPS has agreed to invest $482 million in advance to prepare the new vehicle. Oshkosh had worked with Ford during the bidding process, but the automaker repeatedly declined to comment on whether he was involved in the defense company`s final pitch, which is very different from spy images of previous prototypes based on the transit van. Among other opportunities outside of the USPS snafu, Dauch wants to move the company forward. In addition, Workhorse wants to keep the door open to future contracts with the U.S.
government to accelerate the electrification of the fleet`s vehicles. The treaty`s snub prompted some Ohio lawmakers, including the U.S. senator. Sherrod Brown cries scandal. In a joint letter to the White House with U.S. Representatives Tim Ryan and Marcy Kaptur, he called on the Biden administration to review the postal contract, saying Workhorse had been “ignored.” Electric vehicle company Workhorse Group (NASDAQ: WKHS) voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit blocking the U.S. Postal Service`s decision to award a multibillion-dollar contract to Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK) for delivery vehicles on Tuesday. .