BrightDrop, GM’s electric delivery company, projects $1 billion in revenue in 2023

BrightDrop, the EV logistics company owned by General Motors, projects it will reach $1 billion in revenue in 2023, making it one of the fastest companies in history to reach that milestone.

The announcement was made in advance of a GM investor event, at which the automaker was expected to outline its plan to cover its massive investments in electric vehicle development amid a cooling economy. And it comes just shy of two years since GM announced the creation of BrightDrop as its effort to corner the market on electric delivery vehicles.

Since then, the company has released a modest slate of products, including the Zevo 600 electric van, an electric pallet for moving packages, and a suite of fleet management software. And it’s adding to that today, announcing a new subscription-based software platform for its customers. BrightDrop has also racked up a number of noteworthy customers, including FedEx, Hertz, Walmart, and Verizon.

The pandemic has fueled a boom in home delivery, with experts predicting that the number of delivery vehicles in the largest 100 cities around the world will increase by 36 percent over the next decade. More trucks equal more tailpipe pollution, at least 36 percent or 6 million tons, according to the World Economic Forum. Getting the carbon emissions out of this segment will go a long way toward improving air quality and fighting climate change.

But the company has a lot of stiff competition. In addition to BrightDrop, Ford, Rivian, and Arrival are all working on their own electric vans for commercial customers. Amazon has said it would buy vans from Rivian and Stellantis, while UPS is interested in Arrival. Ford is likely to iterate on its E-Transit cargo van for more capacity.

BrightDrop says it can see a clean balance sheet on the horizon, confirming that it is set to generate up to $10 billion in revenue and reach 20 percent profit margins by the end of the decade.