At the beginning of the year, General Motors CEO Mary Barra announced that the company was starting a new business. It’s called BrightDrop, and it’s focused on providing electrified products for delivery and logistics businesses. At the time, we also learned that FedEx would be the first customer for BrightDrop’s EV600 electric van. Today, the shipping company accepted the first five (of 500) vehicles, which will start making deliveries in Los Angeles in 2022.
Like other GM brands, BrightDrop is using the automaker’s new 800 V Ultium battery packs and Ultium Drive motors in these new electric vehicles. The EV600 has a 250-mile range (402 km) and a capacity of 600 cubic feet (16,990 L).
“At FedEx, transforming our pickup and delivery fleet to electric vehicles is integral to achieving our ambitious sustainability goals announced earlier this year. This collaborative effort shows how businesses can take action to help usher in a lower-emissions future for all,” said Mitch Jackson, chief sustainability officer at FedEx.
The FedEx EV600s will be based in Inglewood, California. FedEx has installed 500 charging stations around the state and plans to add more EV600s to its Californian fleet as BrightDrop builds them.