Workhorse, the start-up EV, 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 Tuesday afternoon, just a day before the first oral arguments were scheduled on the USPS ‘attempt to dismiss the case.
Workhorse filed the protest in U.S. 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 defense contractor Oshkosh, ending a contest that began in 2015.
“We are pleased to learn that Workhorse Group has withdrawn its protest over the award of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS NGDV) next-generation delivery vehicle contract to Oshkosh Defense,” an Oshkosh spokesman said in an email to The Verge. “[W]We are proud that the USPS has selected our solution to meet the needs of the NGDV program. We look forward to working with our partners across the country to get these highly trained and efficient vehicles for the carriers who need them. ”
In a statement, the USPS said it “remained[s] committed to modernizing our delivery fleet to serve our customers. The postal service is working diligently with our supplier and awaits the production of our next generation delivery vehicles (NGDV) “.
Workhorse’s decision to drop the lawsuit comes just two weeks after a short-selling research firm released a report on the start, alleging fraud and accusing the company of hiding an investigation from investors. Securities and Exchange Commission. Workhorse did not respond to several requests for comment on the dismissal and has not answered any questions about the allegations.
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 begun manufacturing.
The USPS set out to replace its current mail trucks in 2015, hoping to make the fleet more fuel efficient and offer mail carriers modern services such as advanced security features and air conditioning. Workhorse was one of the few companies to get the final bids last year and claimed to be the only one that proposed building a fully electric mail fleet.
But the Ohio-based company ran into trouble as the contest dragged on, although some reputable companies like UPS and FedEx tested some of their previous vehicles. To stay afloat, Workhorse took money from hedge funds and sold parts of its business, including the granting of intellectual property licenses for an electric pickup truck it never built to a new company started by its former director. general, Lordstown Motors.
The postal service selected Oshkosh in February, and the defense agency and contractor unveiled a new vehicle that was supposed to be able to run on both gas and electric transmissions. Oshkosh has agreed to manufacture between 50,000 and 165,000 of the trucks in ten years. Only about 10 percent will be electric at first and those who are not are supposed to be “fuel efficient.” [and] low emissions emissions, “although neither Oshkosh nor the USPS have backed those terms with any numbers. The USPS has said it would need billions of dollars more in funding to increase the number of all-electric vehicles it is asking Oshkosh.
Workhorse initially filed an appeal with the USPS after the concession was announced and then filed its protest with the Federal Claims Court on June 16. The USPS (and Oshkosh, who joined the case to support the agency’s defense) argued that Workhorse should go through at least one official step as set out in the contest rules before filing a lawsuit. federal and try to dismiss the case on these grounds. Oral arguments on the motion to remove the USPS were scheduled for Wednesday.
The USPS has been very secretive about the details of the contest and its decision to go with Oshkosh. Workhorse has alleged that Oshkosh changed his plans at the end of the contest and that the design unveiled in February was never subject to the tests the USPS required by its own rules. Workhorse also revealed in one of its own statements that USPS told the startup that there was at least one other all-electric participant and that even if the agency had not selected Oshkosh, Workhorse would still not have won the contract.