General Motors announced on Tuesday the completion of its first electric delivery vans, BrightDrop EV600, and revealed a second version called EV410.
This is a relatively quick turnaround considering that GM only announced the EV600, as well as plans to build it in Ontario, Canada, in January. The EV600 is the first model from BrightDrop, a new standalone business focused on electric vans for commercial fleets.
The complete development took only 20 months, according to GM, which claims that the EV600 is the fastest-to-market vehicle program in its history.
BrightDrop EV600
The first EV600 vans will arrive at FedEx in time for the holiday season, GM said. However, production will remain low volume for now, not ramping up to full scale until November 2022, according to the automaker. BrightDrop also previously discussed plans to launch its EP1 electric pallet system by late 2021.
The EV600 will be followed by the EV410, featuring a shorter wheelbase of just over 150 inches and an overall length of less than 20 feet. Like the EV600, GM cited a range of 250 miles and a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of less than 10,000 pounds for the EV410.
The shorter version will be manufactured in the same Canadian factory as the EV600, starting in 2023. The first examples of these vans will be for Verizon.
GM is also preparing a fleet version of its Ultium Charge 360 service with fleet management tools and facilities, in addition to integration with OnStar Vehicle Insights telematics technology and BrightDrop’s own management platform.
While General Motors is going with a clean-sheet design, its rival Ford’s E-Transit is an electric version of the existing Transit van (and, undoubtedly, very popular). Amazon is acquiring custom electric vans from Rivian, in which the online commerce giant has invested.
