General Motors plans to launch a new all-electric van called the EV600 later this year. The first 500 vehicles will be sold at FedEx.
GM
General Motors said Tuesday it plans to launch an all-electric van called the EV600 this year.
The van, which is part of GM’s plan to invest $ 27 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles by 2025, will be the first vehicle in a new GM business unit called BrightDrop. According to Pam Fletcher, vice president of global innovation, will oversee the new division, the EV600 will be capable of carrying up to 250 miles per load.
“The game changer about BrightDrop is that it’s a one-stop shop ecosystem,” Fletcher said. “End-to-end, BrightDrop could help you with the deliveries that fleets need.”
Fletcher declined to discuss pricing and other details, but said BrightDrop products will be sold through a new independent network of sales and services. He said GM plans a full portfolio of electrical products, not just vehicles, for BrightDrop.
The first 500 vans will go to FedEx starting this year, Fletcher said. Wider availability of vans is expected in early 2022. The EV600 is the first commercial vehicle with GM’s next-generation Ultium battery system, on which the manufacturer has spent billions as a basis. for future electric vehicles.
GM’s first BrightDrop product will be the EP1, it will be a propulsion-assisted electric pallet developed to easily move goods over short distances, for example, from the delivery vehicle to the customer’s front door.
GM
The commercial market is expected to be an important growth area for electric vehicles. Other newly created carmakers, such as Amazon-backed Rivian, as well as older carmakers such as Ford Motor and Daimler, have announced plans to enter the segment. GM estimates the combined market opportunity for parcel, food delivery and reverse logistics in the US will be more than $ 850 billion by 2025.
The EV600 will be the second product of the new BrightDrop brand. The first will be a propulsion-assisted electric pallet called EP1, Fletcher said. It was developed to easily move goods over short distances, for example, from the delivery vehicle to the customer’s front door. It is expected to go on sale earlier this year, Fletcher said.
“The interest in these products has been huge,” Fletcher said. Last year, a pallet pilot program with FedEx found that drivers were able to deliver 25 percent more packages a day, he said. The pallets, like all the company’s products, will be electric and will have connectivity and monitoring functions for logistical purposes.
BrightDrop CEO Travis Katz, who joined the automaker this month at venture capital firm Redpoint Ventures, said the company’s mission is to develop a new line of “smart products and services” and connected “aimed at helping business firms improve employee efficiency and safety.
GM’s first BrightDrop vehicle will be the EV600, an electric light commercial vehicle designed specifically for the delivery of goods and services with a range of up to 250 miles per load.
GM