LOS ANGELES/SAN FRANCISCO - UPS and FedEx are facing uncertainty in U.S. supplies of big, boxy electric step vans they need to replace their gas guzzlers and make a dent in the country's climate-warming tailpipe emissions.
The delivery companies and their electric van suppliers face a Catch-22 situation, said Sam Fiorani, a vice president at AutoForecast Solutions. Meanwhile, delivery rival Amazon.com already has over 10,000 smaller electric cargo vans from Rivian across the U.S. and Europe - still a tiny fraction of the broader cargo van market."There is limited availability for larger capacity vans," FedEx said in a statement.
Atlanta-based UPS expects to use 40% alternative fuel in its Ground operations by 2025, up from 29% currently. RNG trucks today can be more climate-friendly than EVs powered by electricity from coal and other fossil fuels, Wake said. California for years offered purchase vouchers of $60,000 or $85,000 to all commercial buyers of electric step vans - but changed terms for large companies like UPS and FedEx in 2023.