Bright Drop EV600 Van
Source: Brightdrop
Detroit – General Motors The company will integrate the all-electric Bright Drop commercial van into the Chevrolet brand to improve vehicle sales, accessibility and awareness.
The change will expand sales and service locations from a handful of dealerships to Chevrolet’s larger North American dealer network, which includes more than 500 commercial locations across the country, said Sander Pizar, vice president of GM’s Envolve Fleet operations in North America.
“The strength of the Chevrolet brand is behind it,” he told CNBC, “and it will certainly lead to increased sales. Our customers who choose to switch to EVs will have an easier time doing so by working with a Chevrolet dealer that they already know and trust for their other vehicle needs.”
The number of new dealerships will be determined based on how many dealers want to sell and service the vans. To sell commercial EVs, dealerships will need to have dedicated vehicle lifts, service bays, employee training, etc.
GM declined to disclose the average cost for a dealer to become certified to sell BrightDrop products, saying the cost varies by store.
BrightDrop currently sells two all-electric commercial vans used for package delivery and other tasks: the Zevo 400 and Zevo 600. Starting with the 2025 model year later this year, the vans will be rebranded as the Chevrolet BrightDrop 400 and 600 vans.
“Chevrolet is the top-selling fleet brand for General Motors,” Pizar said. “This makes perfect sense for GM Envolve and Chevrolet.”
Thursday’s announcement marks the latest change for BrightDrop, which GM launched as a wholly owned subsidiary in 2021 and folded into the company’s fleet business last year.
GM had high hopes for BrightDrop to become a new, profitable growth business for the company, but sales and earnings appear to have not met the company’s initial expectations.
BrightDrop was expected to generate $1 billion in revenue in 2023. GM did not disclose BrightDrop’s revenue numbers, but it’s highly unlikely that goal will be met.
The company sold only about 500 Bright Drop vans in 2023. GM reported sales of 746 Bright Drops in the first six months of 2024.
The van is produced at GM’s CAMI assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ontario.
