BrightDropped: General Motors Moves EV Delivery Van Unit to Chevrolet

• The BrightDrop Zero 600 and Zero 400 walk-in commercial all-electric vans are now the Chevrolet BrightDrop 600 and BrightDrop 400 models and wear the gold “bowtie” badge.

• Once touted to investors as positioned to become one of the fastest companies in history expected to reach $1 billion in revenue, BrightDrop sold 146 EV vans in 2022 and 497 in 2023.

• All current Chevy dealers can apply to add BrightDrop vans to their offerings, but only dealers that “meet certain commercial EV requirements” will sell and service the vans.

General Motors has moved its wholly owned BrightDrop subsidiary to its Chevrolet division’s commercial sales and service network.

The BrightDrop Zero 600 and Zero 400 walk-in commercial all-electric vans are now the Chevrolet BrightDrop 600 and BrightDrop 400 models and wear the gold “bowtie” badge on their noses.

Once touted to investors as positioned to become one of the fastest companies in history expected to reach $1 billion in revenue (investor.gm.com, Nov. 17, 2022), BrightDrop sold 146 EV vans in 2022 and 497 in 2023, of which 483 were the bigger Zero 600 models. Ford’s Pro business unit sold 7,672 E-Transit vans in the US last year.

The BrightDrops are off to a better start in 2024, with 746 EV commercial vans sold through June 30. Ford e-Transit sales totaled 6,301 for the first half of 2024, while Ford’s Pro commercial truck unit has become more profitable than its Blue ICE passenger car unit.

“Adding BrightDrop’s electric vans to the expanding Chevrolet EV portfolio will give BrightDrop customers access to one of the industry’s largest and most extensive commercial sales and service networks and enhances brand growth opportunities,” GM says in a press release.

All current Chevy dealers can apply to add BrightDrop vans to their offerings, but only dealers that “meet certain commercial EV requirements” will sell and service the vans.

GM launched BrightDrop at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2021, and last December BrightDrop was absorbed by GM Envolve, the automaker’s fleet business serving commercial and government customers. At that time, BrightDrop dropped its Trace eCart robotic pod shuttles to concentrate on the commercial vans.

In June 2022, we reported that the BrightDrop Zevo 600 would be the basis for a replacement of the now-54-year-old Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vans for the 2026 model year.

But last February, we reported those EV replacements are on indefinite hold. Latest is that the internal-combustion-powered vans will get a minor update for 2027 and will be dropped, presumably in favor of new EV models, in 2031 or ’32.

Less than two years ago, GM said it was on the way to EV profitability. But the latest chapter in the BrightDrop story suggests otherwise.

If you are in the market for a commercial electric van, has BrightDrop been on your shopping list? Please comment below.