The familiar white postal truck has never been known for luxury, speed or graceful styling. For decades, the
small, box-shaped vehicles have moved from mailbox to mailbox, becoming nearly as recognizable as the
letter carriers driving them.
That familiar look is beginning to change.
The U.S. Postal Service is rolling out a new generation of delivery vehicles designed to carry more packages,
provide better protection for carriers and replace trucks that have been operating since the 1980s. The new
vehicles are gradually appearing in communities around the country, including in Minnesota.
A confirmed number of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles assigned to the Hastings Post Office was not
available through public Postal Service materials reviewed for this story. Deployment varies by location, based
on delivery routes, facility readiness and operational needs.
That means Hastings residents may continue seeing several types of postal vehicles, including the older box-
shaped trucks, commercial vans and, eventually, more of the tall, round-nosed Next Generation Delivery
Vehicles.
The new vehicle is hard to miss. It has an oversized windshield, a high roof and a long, low hood that has
drawn comparisons to a duck’s bill. The design may look unusual, but many of its features were added for
practical reasons.
The large windshield and 360-degree camera system give the driver a better view of vehicles, pedestrians,
mailboxes and other objects around the truck. The vehicle also includes front and rear collision warnings,
automatic emergency braking, traction control and air bags.
For Hastings letter carriers, one of the most noticeable improvements may be something found in nearly every
modern passenger vehicle, air conditioning.

Many of the Postal Service’s older Long Life Vehicles do not have air conditioning, air bags or anti-lock
brakes. Those vehicles were designed in the 1980s, when letter mail made up a larger share of the daily
workload and online shopping had not yet filled postal trucks with boxes.
The new vehicles include both air conditioning and heating, an important combination for carriers working
through humid Minnesota summers and below-zero winter mornings. Improved seating and a more ergonomic
workspace were also included to make repeated stops, entries and exits easier on carriers.
The right-hand-drive arrangement remains, allowing carriers to reach curbside mailboxes from the passenger
side of the road. The vehicle also has a larger cargo area, giving carriers more room for packages while
reducing the need to return to the post office to reload.
The increased space reflects a major change in how Americans use the Postal Service. Traditional letter
volume has declined over time, while package deliveries have grown with online shopping. The old trucks
were built mainly around trays and tubs of letters, not stacks of boxes in different shapes and sizes.
The Next Generation Delivery Vehicle has about 330 cubic feet of cargo space, providing considerably more
room than the older Long Life Vehicle. The cargo area is also tall enough for many carriers to stand upright
while organizing mail and packages.
The Postal Service began searching for a replacement vehicle in 2015 and awarded a contract to Oshkosh
Defense in 2021. The agreement allowed the Postal Service to purchase between 50,000 and 165,000 purpose-
built vehicles over a period of up to 10 years.
The need was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Many of the approximately 190,000 vehicles used for
mail delivery were more than 30 years old when the replacement program began. Keeping the aging trucks on
the road required regular repairs, and some vehicles were costing thousands of dollars each year to maintain.
Fuel economy was another concern. The older Long Life Vehicle averages about 8.4 miles per gallon. The
gasoline-powered version of the new vehicle was estimated at 14.7 miles per gallon when air conditioning is
not running.
The Postal Service is ordering both gasoline-powered and battery-electric versions of the Next Generation
Delivery Vehicle. The two versions look largely the same from the outside, allowing drivers and mechanics to
work with similar layouts and equipment.
The broader fleet plan calls for about 106,000 new vehicles by 2028. That total includes 45,000 battery-electric
Next Generation Delivery Vehicles and 21,000 commercial battery-electric vehicles, such as vans purchased
from existing manufacturers. The remaining vehicles include gasoline-powered Next Generation Delivery
Vehicles and other replacement models.
More than 35,000 new postal vehicles of all types were on the road by late 2025, according to the Postal
Service. The number includes commercial vans and other vehicles, not only the distinctive purpose-built
trucks.
Electric vehicles are considered a good match for many postal routes because the trucks generally travel
predictable distances, make frequent stops and return to the same facility at the end of the day. Charging
equipment must be installed at postal facilities before electric vehicles can be assigned there, which is one
reason the rollout differs from community to community.
The old postal trucks will not disappear from Hastings overnight. The Postal Service operates one of the
largest civilian vehicle fleets in the country, and replacing vehicles across thousands of communities is a
lengthy process.