General Motors' electric delivery van subsidiary, BrightDrop, is taking its first steps on the international scene with the expansion of its customer portfolio to include DHL Express Canada. BrightDrop is also investing in its production capabilities, with the grand opening last Monday of its CAMI Assembly plant in Ontario, which is expected to produce 50,000 Zevo vans annually by 2025.
General Motors' BrightDrop Plans to Reach $1 Billion in Revenue with the Help of Its Ontario Plant
According to the story by Tech Crunch, the investment in the Ontario plant follows BrightDrop's reported plans to reach $1 billion in revenue by next year. This is being supported by GM's $800 million investment to turn the CAMI plant into a high-volume EV production facility.
To meet customer demand in advance of the plant's opening, 150 of BrightDrop's Zevo vans have already been delivered to FedEx, its US launch customer. Having DHL Express Canada come onboard as a new customer shows the confidence legacy brands have in our ability to deliver, said Travis Katz, BrightDrop president, and CEO, in a statement.
DHL Express Canada will be BrightDrop's Next Customer Adding Its First Zevo Vans to the Fleet
According to BrightDrop, DHL Express Canada will add its first Zevo vans to its fleet early next year. The move is part of DHL's goal to make 60% of its fleet electric by 2030, for which it has committed €7 billion.
The newly introduced BrightDrop Core, which launched last month at GM's investor day, provides detailed insights into operations for customers. However, BrightDrop has not revealed the price of its vehicles.
BrightDrop Launches Zevo 600 and Zevo 400 Despite Being Barely a Year Old
BrightDrop's Zevo 600 (formerly EV600) and the Zevo 400 (formerly EV410) are products of a company that is barely a year old but has already gained traction in the logistics industry, offering a solution to assist customers with their net zero and sustainability goals. With the production of the Zevo 600 scheduled to start next month and that of the Zevo 400 in late 2023, the door is open for BrightDrop to meet customer demand in Canada and other international markets.
The news comes at a time shortly after Tesla announced its Semis for PepsiCo. This is a huge move for electric vehicles as a whole on an international level and not just in the United States.
No Word was Given About the Tesla Semis Being Equipped with Autopilot and Self-Driving
What's more surprising about the Tesla electric trucks is that Tesla did not say anything about them being equipped with Autopilot and Self-Driving, per Electrek, which helps make them safer in general.
Per Axios, Musk revealed that the Semis were able to complete a 500-mile drive running on just a single charge with the cargo weight totaling 81,000 pounds. Interestingly, a fully loaded Tesla Semi with Doritos is capable of going further compared to a truck filled with cases of Pepsi, per Axios.
Related Article: Tesla's Electric Semi Truck Defies Bill Gates' Doubts After Completing a 500-Mile Run on a Single Charge
