Commercial EVs focus on ‘more efficient systems'

General Motors subsidiaries BrightDrop and Cruise are preparing to launch electric vans in 2023.

BrightDrop, GM's electric delivery van business, launched the Zevo 600 van this year. A smaller van called the Zevo 400 is scheduled to launch next year.

Since GM introduced BrightDrop a year and a half ago, the company has logged more than 25,000 orders from household names in e-commerce including FedEx Express and Walmart, and recruited several executives from the advanced autonomous technology, software and robotics sectors.

"The demand for electric vehicles [is] only growing to replace and supplement the existing fleet that's out there," Rachad Youssef, BrightDrop's chief product officer, told Automotive News in June. "The key to our success is to not solve the problem by simply putting more vehicles on the road, but to really come up with more efficient systems. How would you redesign delivery if you were to dream it up today, knowing the impact and knowing the consumer demand that exists?"

Cruise, a self-driving technology company majority-owned by GM, is preparing to launch the Origin self-driving ride-hailing and delivery van next year. The company began commercial operations of its robotaxis in San Francisco this year.

BrightDrop Zevo 600: The Zevo 600 van includes 600 cubic feet of cargo space and is designed for long-range deliveries. It has a range of up to 250 miles on a full charge, according to GM estimates. BrightDrop began Zevo 600 deliveries to FedEx Express this year. The van is unlikely to be updated before 2026.

BrightDrop Zevo 400: The Zevo 400 van, slated to launch in late 2023, includes more than 400 cubic feet of cargo space and is designed for smaller, more frequent deliveries, such as grocery dropoffs and telecom maintenance.

Cruise Origin: Production of the Origin is slated to start at Factory Zero in Detroit in early 2023. GM developed the Origin with Honda as a self-driving ride-hailing and delivery van. It has two benches that face each other and no steering wheel, pedals or space for an operator. The doors slide open, and the entry is low to the ground and three times larger than that of the average car to make room for passengers or cargo to get in and out.