BrightDrop, GM’s electric fleet delivery vehicle-making startup, announced today that Merchants Fleet will be expanding its order by 5,400 vehicles.
Merchants Fleet calls itself America’s fastest-growing fleet management company and plans to order a total of 18,000 vehicles from BrightDrop. The company had previously ordered 12,600 EV600 delivery vehicles and is now adding 5,400 smaller EV410s.
“Merchants Fleet’s plan to purchase such a large order of our electric commercial vehicles shows they are serious about leading the fleet industry’s transformation to an all-electric future, and confident in BrightDrop’s ability to bring that vision to life,” said Travis Katz, BrightDrop president and CEO.
Read Also: GM’s BrightDrop Starts EV600 Production And Unveils Smaller EV410
BrightDrop calls the recently unveiled EV410 a mid-size delivery vehicle that is “well-suited for faster, smaller payload deliveries or as a last-mile and traditional service vehicle.” Its payload of fewer than 10,000 lbs (4,536 kg) reduces the need for additional operating licenses, making it ideal for smaller businesses.
At just under 20 feet (6 meters) long it still boasts 400 cubic feet (11,326 liters) of cargo space. GM estimates that it will be able to travel up to 250 miles (402 km) on a full charge and, like the larger EV600, will be based on GM’s Ultium Platform.
“The collaboration with Merchants Fleet opens the door for other companies that want to electrify their fleets by providing access to our portfolio of electric vehicles, which is a critical step toward decreasing vehicle-related emissions in the communities where we live,” said Katz.
The first EV410 customer, though, was not Merchants Fleet. Verizon was the first official customer to make an order for the mid-size commercial vehicle. Production of the EV410 is set to begin at GM’s CAMI Assembly Plant in Ingersoll, Canada in 2023.
