US Postal Service picks Mahindra to develop next-gen delivery vehicle prototypes

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has selected Mahindra & Mahindra for NGDV prototype vehicles following a competitive Request for Proposal issued in October 2015.

Mahindra is one of the six vehicle manufacturers USPS has selected to produce prototypes for testing and evaluation. The awardees will have approximately a year to design and deliver their prototypes. Production requirements and future vehicle replacement awards will be determined by USPS after the NGDV prototype testing.

Commenting on the development, Anand Mahindra, chairman, Mahindra Group, said: “We are excited to be part of the USPS NGDV prototype programme. USPS has recognised Mahindra’s engineering proposal and selected us for vehicle development and prototype delivery. This is a strategic development in Mahindra’s ambition to become a global mobility player.”

“USPS is looking for a modern, safe and efficient vehicle to meet its daily delivery and operational needs,” said Rick Haas, president and COO, Mahindra North American Technical Center (MNATC) in Troy, Michigan. “Our team has significant global experience in engineering some of the best trucks ever produced.   We’ve spent thousands of hours ensuring that this proposal optimizes driver and pedestrian safety and provides USPS modern and reliable vehicle architecture for the future.”

Mahindra’s engineering and design proposal was led by its Southeast Michigan-based MNATC. Headquartered in Troy, MNATC has leveraged a significant pool of automotive engineering talent that thrives in Detroit to create innovative vehicle designs for the US. An MNATC team submitted a proposal emphasising safety, ergonomics and fuel economy all within a ground-up approach to vehicle integration.

Mahindra has a 70-year history of building right-hand drive commercial vehicles capable of handling rugged conditions. Since 1949, when Mahindra started manufacturing the post-War Willys Overland Jeep, the company has focused its engineering and design around durability and toughness. Both are requisite characteristics for a rigorous all-day, all-weather-use vehicle involved in mail delivery