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Startup EV Workhorse has dropped its lawsuit to protest the U.S. Postal Service’s decision to let Oshkosh Defense build the next-generation mail truck. The court accepted Workhorse’s voluntary dismissal on Tuesday night – just a day before the start of the first oral arguments regarding the USPS ‘attempt to dismiss the case.
Workhorse filed the protest in the United States Federal Claims Court in mid-June, nearly four months after the USPS announced it had awarded the contract to build the next-generation mail truck to the defense contractor Oshkosh, thus ending a competition that had started in 2015.
“We are delighted to hear that Workhorse Group has withdrawn its protest against the award of the United States Postal Service’s Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (” USPS NGDV “) contract to Oshkosh Defense,” a spokesperson for Oshkosh in an email to The edge. “[W]We are proud that the USPS chose our solution to meet the needs of the NGDV program. We look forward to working with our partners across the country to deliver these high performing and efficient vehicles to the carriers who need them. “
In a statement, the USPS said it “remains[s] committed to modernizing our delivery fleet to serve our customers. The Postal Service is working diligently with our supplier and looks forward to the production of our Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDV).
Workhorse’s decision to drop the lawsuit comes just two weeks after an uncovered research firm released a report on the startup, alleging fraud and accusing the company of hiding a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation from investors. Workhorse did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the dismissal and did not respond to any questions about the charges.
The layoff also comes after Workhorse replaced its CEO and the company announced plans to redesign its flagship electric delivery van, which it had just started manufacturing.
The USPS set out to replace its current postal trucks in 2015, hoping to make the fleet more fuel efficient and give letter carriers modern amenities like advanced safety features and air conditioning. Workhorse was one of the few companies that didn’t stop at final offers last year, and they claimed to be the only one offering to build a fully electric courier fleet.
But the Ohio-based company struggled as the contest dragged on, despite some big name companies like UPS and FedEx testing some of its previous vehicles. To stay afloat, Workhorse borrowed money from hedge funds and sold part of his business, including licensing the intellectual property of an electric pickup truck he never built to a new company. founded by its former CEO, Lordstown Motors.
The Postal Service selected Oshkosh in February, and the agency and defense contractor revealed a new vehicle said to be capable of running on both gasoline and electricity. Oshkosh has agreed to build 50,000 to 165,000 trucks over 10 years. Only about 10% will initially be electric, and those that are not are said to be “fuel efficient.” [and] low emissions ”, although neither Oshkosh nor the USPS have confirmed these terms with numbers. The USPS has said it would need billions of additional dollars in funding to increase the number of all-electric vehicles it is ordering from Oshkosh.
Workhorse initially appealed to the USPS after the award was announced, then filed its protest in Federal Claims Court on June 16. The USPS (and Oshkosh, who joined the case to support the agency’s defense) argued that Workhorse was supposed to take at least one additional official step as outlined in the contest rules before filing a federal complaint and try to have the case dismissed on those grounds. Oral argument on the USPS ‘motion to dismiss was scheduled for Wednesday.
The USPS has been very secretive about the details of the contest and its decision to go with Oshkosh. Workhorse alleged that Oshkosh changed his plans when the competition ended, and the design revealed in February was never subjected to the tests required by the USPS by its own rules. Workhorse also revealed in one of its own documents that the USPS told the startup that there was at least one other fully electric participant, and that although the agency had not selected Oshkosh, Workhorse did still would not have won the contract.
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