The BrightDrop EV600 has been named Commercial Green Car of the Year by the EV-obsessed folks over at Green Car Journal.
The BrightDrop EV600 was up against four finalists for the 2022 Commercial Green Car of the Year award, including the ELMS Urban Delivery EV, Ford E-Transit, Lightning eMotors Electric Van and Rivian Electric Delivery Van.
Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of Green Car Journal and GreenCarJournal.com, said the BrightDrop EV600 beat out these other finalists due to high real-world demand for an eco-friendly last-mile delivery solution.
“BrightDrop hits a sweet spot in zero-emission mobility with its EV600,” Cogan explained. “The need for last-mile deliveries is huge and growing, with electrification urgently needed to mitigate carbon emissions and energy use. The all-electric BrightDrop EV600 delivery van presents an enlightened solution.”
The BrightDrop EV600 made its debut at CES 2021 and will enter limited production later this year before full-scale production ramps up at the GM CAMI plant in Ontario next year. The electric delivery van utilizes GM’s new Ultium lithium-ion battery design and has an estimated range of around 250 miles. The van also boasts over 600 cubic feet of cargo area and is available with a gross vehicle weight rating of under 10,000 pounds.
Going forward, BrightDrop will also release a smaller version of the EV600 called the EV410, which has a shorter wheelbase and more than 400 cubic feet of cargo space. This vehicle’s smaller footprint will make it more maneuverable and easier to park and will likely appeal to companies operating in city centers and congested metropolitan areas.
Travis Katz, BrightDrop president and CEO, said winning the Commercial Green Car of the Year award is indicative of the progress that BrightDrop has made since the new GM sub-brand was first announced earlier this year.
“It’s an honor to be recognized for our mission to decarbonize last-mile delivery by experts in energy efficiency and environment,” said Katz. “This award validates the progress we’re making on our journey to reduce carbon emissions and create a greener delivery system.”
FedEx is in line to receive the first customer examples of the BrightDrop EV600 and is slated to take delivery of the first models later this year.
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Comments
Never driven. Not available. Wins awards. That is the state of EV fanatism today.
250 mile range. None of the other contenders had more than a 150 mile range.
That’s EPA range, which is basically repeating the gas highway and city drive cycles.
It’s an irrelevant number given this thing is going to be driven at neighborhood speeds for 500 foot stretches. In this application, efficiency of braking/regen and low-speed operation is going to be far more important than highway aerodynamics.
Of all the delivery trucks in neighbor FedEx are the noisiest. Don’t sound like diesels. Battery should be quiet? This is perfect use of EV. They have a place to charge and pay for their own electricity.
Yes, this and city/school busses, mail trucks are all low hanging fruit for EV, and totally make sense today. These vehicles are all terribly inefficient ICE vehicles due to constant stop and go, where an EV can use regen braking to stop, and recover a portion of its energy each stop and go cycle.
Like I said when this was originally shown by GM, Grand Slam move.
Bravo Mary and team!!!
Agree… This is the the Cash Cow of the Ultium platform I have seen so far. Maybe Silverado EV will become the cash cow later, but this is here now, and the Silverado E still 12-18 months away.
Donavan,
Usually a cash cow is a product sold at high margins, often greatly exceeding its cost to produce. An Escalade is a cash cow as it’s really just a nicer Tahoe, which itself is really just a station wagon version of a Chevy work truck. An Escalade makes a ton of money because it sells for $90K and it likely only costs half that to produce.
I don’t see any low-margin fleet vehicle becoming a cash cow. Historically they never have been. They may help amortize the cost of the Ultimum platform but the money won’t be made off of the delivery vans. The big money will more likely be generated by the Hummer variant. Having said all that, if Brightdrop vans stay in production with no changes for 25 years as the Savanna/Express have, I suspect they’ll become rather profitable but still I wouldn’t think their margins would rise to the level of a true cash cow product.
This is where ev technology should start and be perfected. Not in mainstream vehicles.
I love my EV’s, technology seems perfectly mature enough for my uses. Todays EV’s embarrass ICE vehicles at every stoplight, more fun to drive, and cheaper to operate to boot. Todays EV tech though is not perfect for every vehicle or user, but its maturing fast.
No technology is ever “perfected .”