General Motors is pulling the plug on its BrightDrop electric delivery van project as part of a broader culling of its EV capacity.
GM launched BrightDrop in 2021, with FedEx Express signing on as the stand-alone venture’s first customer. Other big names such as Walmart, Verizon, Hertz, and Kroger signed on in subsequent months, and GM began producing Zevo vans at its CAMI Assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, in late 2022.
But the market for electric delivery vans didn’t match the expectations of GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra and her team, which brought BrightDrop into GM’s fleet business in 2023. After spending nearly $800 million and receiving provincial and federal government help to convert CAMI into Canada’s first full-scale EV plant, executives were aiming to make 50,000 units this year. But the company sold fewer than 5,000 vehicles in the first nine months of this year, and officials suspended production in May.
“The commercial electric van market has been developing much slower than expected, and changes to the regulatory framework and fleet incentives have made the business even more challenging,” Barra said on an October 21 conference call with analysts. “Our actions on BrightDrop and our ongoing work to reset our capacity will cause us to recognize a charge in the fourth quarter. By acting swiftly and decisively to address overcapacity, we expect to reduce EV losses in 2026 and beyond, making us much better positioned as demand stabilizes.”
