There's a lot of talk about the all-electric models that General Motors is preparing to introduce in the coming months and years, which will be based on the Ultium platform developed by the auto giant.
However, other lesser-known products will also see the light of day thanks to this structure, particularly on the commercial side. This week, General Motors delivered the first units of its BrightDrop EV600 delivery van to FedEx. The model was first presented in concept form in January of 2021.
The first five units just delivered are first payment on of a 500-unit order FedEx has placed for the BrightDrop EV600.
Given that the model was announced in January, General Motors is proud to claim that the EV600s delivered to FedEx represent the “fastest built vehicles, from concept to market, in General Motors history”. As its name suggests, the electric van offers more than 600 cu ft of cargo space. The Ultium batteries that power it provide about 400 km of range.
The vans its is receiving fit into FedEx’s goal to become carbon neutral by 2040. Its FedEx Express subsidiary is aiming for 50 percent of its fleet purchases to be electric by 2025, and 100 percent by 2030.
However, this is not FedEx’s first foray into the field of electric delivery vans, something the company is happy to point out. It first used a lead-acid battery-powered electric vehicle in 1994 in California and also introduced hybrid vehicles into its fleet in 2003. FedEx also took delivery of several Navistar eStar electric delivery trucks in 2010. The delivery giant has also reserved 20 Tesla semi trucks and also plans to buy 120 electric trucks from a company called Xos.
