The Chevy BrightDrop electric commercial van is facing some challenges. It was already a tough sell as a pricey EV, and now a 25-percent tariff on automobiles imported to the U.S. will likely make it more expensive. In an effort to stimulate demand for the van, Canadian labor union Unifor is urging the Canadian government to consider domestically made BrightDrop vans for mail delivery by Canada Post.
Canada Post is in the process of turning its fleet of 14,000 vehicles to 100-percent electric by 2040. It says its current fleet is more than 10-percent hybrid and electric. Its current electric van is the Morgan Olson C250e, which rides on the Rivian Commercial Van platform shared by Amazon’s electric vans. A $2,500 cash purchase discount in Canada could sweeten the deal, but it’s not quite as generous as the $25,500 rebate currently being offered in the U.S.
The GM CAMI Assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, is the sole production site of the Chevy BrightDrop van. The factory that used to produce nearly 200,000 Chevy Equinox crossovers annually only built about 3,500 BrightDrop vans in 2024, leading to industry analyst Sam Fiorani’s claim that CAMI is “woefully underutilized.”
“We understand the very real challenges, and certainly our members do too but know we’re in this fight – on top of dealing with the trade war – to make sure that we can get to a better place for CAMI,” Unifor National President Lana Payne told the Detroit Free Press.
“Am I concerned about CAMI? Absolutely. It keeps me awake at night. We’re not building as many vehicles there that I believe we could be building,” she said. “Our conversations with General Motors have been about how we, and they, can do more work in terms of how we market this van.” Despite low production numbers and slow demand, GM told the Detroit Free Press that it’s “optimistic about its future.”
Based on these comments from Unifor and GM, it doesn’t sound like there are any plans to build anything but the Chevy BrightDrop at the CAMI plant. With looming tariffs, slow demand for commercial EVs, and a GM/Hyundai partnership that includes sharing electric vans, the Chevy BrightDrop’s future is uncertain.
Comments
“CAMI is “woefully underutilized.””
So are most other GM plants in the United States and Canada under Barra’s “leadership”.
Don’t mail anything to Canada any more. They’ll never get it.
The only “not getting it” is you not getting that electric is the future, especially in the delivery market.
MUDMAN….The real “not getting it” is the folks in Canada. Not only is the future of EVs on shaky ground so is the Canadian government. To cross swords with the government in Washington is only “TO AWAKEN A SLEEPING GIANT.”
The only thing “giant” about Trump is his fat ass.
Hey Canada,
Keep all of these vans in Canada and avoid the tariff. They are perfect for your postal deliveries.
No mention of how expensive it is to build vehicles in Canada even before tariff talk. Canadian wages and taxes are a manufacturing killer. It was strategic for GM to minimize its exposure to Canadian manufacturing costs by moving the Equinox to Mexico. This has been at least 3 years in the making. Bright Drop was a bone thrown to the union.
Since GM doesn’t have to pay for medical insurance for Canadian workers, my guess that it is cheaper to manufacture in Canada than the US.
Wrong! You don’t think it was part of the business case??? Union pay scale vs. moving the Equinox to Mexico, independent of Canada’s socialized medical care.
You think tariffs on Canada are going to move that production to the US?
No! Will stay in Mexico and suppliers, dealers, and possibly GM will have to eat some of the cost of tariffs. US manufacturing costs too expensive also. With Queen Mary pulling down $29.5 million a year even she might have take an adjustment. If tariffs stay in place, of course.
I thought Canada Post was broke? That’s why they’re demanding massive concessions workers, but there’s money for ANOTHER fleet of new vans? Make it make sense…either Canada Post is a profit driven company, and they can’t afford new vans, or they’re a PUBLIC SERVICE, and they can support their own unionized employees too.
Saturn Man. Yes you are out of this world. Back in 1983 after the C.A.W. got there first contract.
The REAL EXPERTS said total cost of wages+ benefits in the average car was 10%. VERY ONE kept blaming over paid ” Auto. Union Workers for high cost”. I suggest you were still in diapers back then . Ms . Barra brought G.M . back from bankrupcy and made G.M. a power house + major provider of jobs both countries. She earns every penny every day. You STINK!!
Hmm. Let’s see 2 GM plants in Canada, Oshawa building approximately 200,000 vehicles and CAMI with Brightdrop building 3500 vehicles (and layed-off until the fall). CAMI was/is a great plant that built/builds some of the best GM quality, as does Oshawa. 4 plants in Mexico building the Chevrolet Silverado, Blazer, Equinox, and GMC Sierra, along with engines and transmissions for domestic and international markets. In 2024, GM assembled over 889,000 vehicles in Mexico, exporting 830,630 units—653,200 of which were shipped to the United States. I would say Canada has been dealt out and I know for fact it is due to the cost to build in Canada which factors in more than just hourly wages. I concur that Barra is good, I like her, I just don’t like the optics of her pay at these challenging times, nor do her employees. Powerhouse, not so sure, great products, best ever, but EV’s are not selling without incentives. If you think so then you should buy the stock.