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The commercial EV company specializing in long-range delivery vans picked up DHL Express Canada as a client as it begins production in Ontario.
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BrightDrop, the GM-backed EV logistics company, is announcing its first international client: DHL Express Canada. This comes alongside news that the company is commencing production of its Zevo 600 delivery vans at its Ontario-based CAMI assembly plant.
The CAMI plant is Canada’s first large-scale EV factory, according to BrightDrop. The company projects the location to output 50,000 Zevo EVs per year by 2025. GM poured about $800 million into the CAMI plant to prep it for BrightDrop, with at-scale production of the larger Zevo 600 vehicle set to begin in January while production of its smaller Zevo 400 will start in late 2023.
DHL Express Canada expects to get its first Zevo vans early next year. CEO Andrew Williams said in a press release that DHL’s worldwide fleet includes over 27,000 EVs already, and BrightDrop will help it achieve its 2050 sustainability goals. The Canadian DHL arm is also testing out BrightDrop’s logistic software platform in Toronto and also its Trace eCart delivery pallets that can help workers securely transport more packages from vehicle to door.
According to BrightDrop, it now has over 30 customers and counts more than 25,000 vehicles as either reserved or intended for. In the US, its biggest customers include FedEx and Walmart, the latter of which reserved 5,000 of both Zevo models earlier this year.
Meanwhile, FedEx said it will reserve 2,500 vans and has already taken delivery of 150 Zevo 600 EVs. Other customers include Verizon, which is the first to order the smaller Zevo 400 EVs with 400 cubic feet of capacity, and Hertz, which is buying all kinds of EVs from GM over the next five years.
Last month, BrightDrop projected it’ll achieve $1 billion in revenue for 2023 and $10 billion with a 20 percent profit margin by the end of the decade. The company is part of GM’s $35 billion pivot into EVs and is intended to be a “one stop shop” for first- and last-mile delivery vehicles, logistical software, and other services. BrightDrop is picking up the pace to put more Zevo vans into service as its competition from Ford, Rivian and Arrival heat up.