WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service said Tuesday it would award a multibillion-dollar, 10-year contract to Oshkosh Defense to manufacture a new generation of fuel efficient postal delivery vehicles.
Under the contract’s initial $482 million investment, Oshkosh Defense, a unit of Oshkosh Corp., will finalize the production design and assemble 50,000 to 165,000 of the vehicles over 10 years.
Meanwhile, shares in EV maker Workhorse Group Inc. plunged on Tuesday, triggering multiple trading halts, after the Postal Service contract that some had expected it to win went to rival Oshkosh instead.
The missed opportunity came as a big blow for Workhorse investors, sending the shares 48 percent lower in New York, the steepest decline since October 2011. Workhorse didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.
Bloomberg contributed to this report.
