GM to end production of BrightDrop electric cargo van
General Motors announced today it will end production of the BrightDrop electric delivery van built at its CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ont.
The company blamed weak demand for electric commercial delivery vans and said the plant was operating below capacity.
“The decision to end production of the BrightDrop electric delivery van is driven by market demand and in no way reflects the commitment and skill of our workforce at CAMI,” said Kristian Aquilina, president and managing director of GM Canada. “This continues to be an uncertain time for our workforce at CAMI, and we are committed to working closely with our employees, Unifor and the Canadian and Ontario governments as we evaluate next steps for the future of CAMI.”
GM received more than $500 million in federal and provincial funding to produce the electric van in Ingersoll.
“Our Canadian operations continue to be a critical part of GM and our North America business,” said Aquilina. “We employ thousands of Canadians across our manufacturing facilities, a multi-campus advanced tech and software center, parts distribution network, and corporate offices. For more than 100 years, GM has been designing, engineering and building vehicles in Canada and we intend to keep doing so.”
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Hope they enjoyed our half billion dollars. Another wise choice Trudeau.
The demand for electric delivery vans is still high globally . It is really hard for GM gauge it when your dealer network has no interest in selling the product. Multiple visits, emails and phone calls to multiple GM dealers got nothing but disinterest, the occasional promise, and zero follow up. We ended up with a Ford Transit but would have much preferred the BrightDrop.
A manager with 45 years of Chevy commercial and fleet experience, I am so happy that my dealer principal didn’t fall prey to GM’s pressure to sign up for this franchise. The dealers that didn’t sign up were right, I feel sorry for the poor dealers that were pressured to sign up by GM.