GM's BrightDrop electric vans to become Chevrolet models

General Motors' electric commercial van brand, BrightDrop, will become part of Chevrolet as the automaker aims to capitalize on a larger dealership network and land new fleet customers.

The reorganization will make BrightDrop, which GM launched as a subsidiary in 2021, a nameplate within the company's highest-volume brand. Its vehicles — the Zevo 400 and 600, which are numbered by their approximate cargo space — will be rebranded as the Chevrolet BrightDrop 400 and 600 starting with the 2025 model year, the automaker said Aug. 29. Both vehicles will continue to be built at GM's CAMI assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ontario.

"Instead of expanding just BrightDrop dealers, we have the best fleet and commercial dealer organization out there now with Chevrolet dealers. So it just made sense to leverage that expertise and that scale to really take BrightDrop to the next level," said Sandor Piszar, vice president of GM Envolve, the automaker's fleet and commercial business.

"It really does help serve our customers by having an established network in place now for sales and service support. We've got Chevrolet dealers in every community across the country," Piszar told Automotive News. "That scale will then just bring greater opportunity for us to have more product available for our customers."

AN EVOLUTION

BrightDrop was envisioned to fulfill last-mile deliveries, and it has operated independently like a startup while also leveraging GM's broader manufacturing resources. When van production began at GM's CAMI Assembly Plant in Ingersoll, Ont., in 2022, GM President Mark Reuss called BrightDrop "the fastest product launch in our history, from concept to commercialization in less than two years."

Last year, the automaker folded BrightDrop into its fleet unit, GM Envolve, for greater efficiency. It now sees opportunity for electric commercial vans more broadly with fleet customers, such as service providers, Piszar said. GM sold 746 BrightDrop vans in the U.S. during the first half of the year.

BrightDrop has seven U.S. dealers, all of whom will be eligible to continue selling the vans, he said. GM anticipates that most of Chevy's 500 medium-duty U.S. dealerships will opt in to BrightDrop sales, he said, though all of the brand's dealers can sign up. They must meet sales and service requirements, which include training and having service facilities that can accommodate the heavier, taller vans.

"We wanted to look at an opportunity to broaden that aperture beyond just last-mile delivery, because we were getting questions from customers, and the BrightDrop dealer network is obviously not as broad as the Chevrolet dealer network," Piszar said. "They're looking for nationwide availability. They're looking for nationwide service footprint, and we had that with Chevrolet right now. They're our volume brand for fleet."

Chevy-branded BrightDrop vans will begin production in October, Piszar said. Chevy continues to sell the gasoline-powered Express commercial van. Piszar said the move creates "an immediate opportunity" to get an electric van to Chevy fleet customers, but he declined to discuss future plans for the Express and BrightDrop nameplates.

The 2025 Chevy BrightDrop 400 and 600 vans will offer a GM-estimated range of 272 miles — 437 kilometres — in combined city and highway driving when equipped with an Ultium Max Range battery pack, the company said. The 2024 Zevo 600 has a standard range of 164 miles (263 km), compared with 159 miles (255 km) for the 2024 Zevo 400.

Chevy also sells an electric version of the Silverado full-size pickup. The Silverado EV launched with two fleet-focused trims before adding retail versions.

"With the addition of BrightDrop to the Chevrolet lineup, we are combining advanced EV technology with the dependability and widespread accessibility that only Chevrolet can offer," Scott Bell, vice president of global Chevrolet, said in a statement. "This move strengthens our EV offerings and reaffirms our role as a leading commercial brand that enables businesses large and small to get work done."

Keith McCluskey, one of BrightDrop's dealers, called the move to Chevy a smart decision that puts the 112-year-old brand's trust and credibility behind the vans, which can act as "a traveling billboard" for Chevy, BrightDrop and the fleet customers' own businesses.

McCluskey, CEO of McCluskey Chevrolet in Cincinnati, said his dealership is in the process of acquiring a BrightDrop van for mobile service. Beyond logistics providers, BrightDrop could serve small businesses that would benefit from the long-term economics of an electric vehicle that requires less upkeep, he said.

"I'm personally 100 per cent supportive of it," McCluskey said.

"These EVs could start more commercial account relationships for us," he said. "We absolutely plan on it doing that."