The U.S. Postal Service said Thursday it placed an initial $2.98 billion order for 50,000 next-generation delivery vehicles from Oshkosh Corp. and said that will include at 1east 10,019 battery electric vehicles.

USPS has rejected a bid by the White House and Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider its plans to buy mostly gasoline-powered vehicles.

U.S. Postmaster Louis DeJoy said Thursday USPS was "increasing our initial electric vehicle purchase from 5,000 to 10,019."

USPS said it expects the vehicles will begin appearing on carrier routes in late 2023.