With electric delivery vehicles in high demand, GM’s Brightdrop sold out for the year

Dive Brief:

General Motors’ subsidiary, BrightDrop, said this week that its model year 2023 Zevo 600 is already sold out. It is now taking reservations for model year 2024 vehicles, another sign that commercial electric delivery vehicles are in high demand.
Most electric delivery vans are used within city centers for last-mile or short-haul deliveries, according to Market Decipher, a market research and consultancy firm.
A remodeled General Motors assembly plant in Ontario, Canada, began shipping BrightDrop vehicles in March. By 2025, the facility is expected to produce 50,000 units a year.

Dive Insight:

Just 16 months after delivering its first hand-built vehicle to FedEx, BrightDrop now counts more than 30 commercial customers covering parcel delivery, retail, rental and service-based utilities. Walmart, another early customer, reserved 5,000 vehicles last year. Hertz, Verizon and DHL Express Canada are also on board, along with WasteNot Compost, a zero-emission compost collection service.

“Our customers have ambitious sustainability goals and they’re under extreme pressure to deliver on them,” said Steve Hornyak, BrightDrop’s chief commercial officer and executive director, in a press release. “The quicker we can electrify commercial fleets, the quicker we'll help combat climate change.”

BrightDrop’s newest customer, Ryder, plans to add 4,000 electric vans to its lease and rental fleet. The vehicles will begin rolling out this year in California, the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area and New York City. Tom Havens, president of fleet management solutions for Ryder, said in a press release that the company aims “to make fleet electrification as seamless as possible by investing in alternative vehicle solutions.”

In addition to BrightDrop, other manufacturers offering battery-electric commercial vans include Canoo, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Rivian and the Stellantis brand Ram.

“The growth of the market can be attributed to the growing emphasis of the government on the electrification of public transport, increasing demand for emission-free delivery vans, and escalating adoption of electric vehicles worldwide,” according to a press release from Market Decipher.