FedEx Express Canada has taken delivery of its first 50 BrightDrop Zevo 600 electric vans at an event in Toronto.
“The introduction of BrightDrop’s electric vans into the FedEx fleet in Canada is an important step in the company’s goal to transform its entire parcel pickup and delivery (PUD) fleet to all electric, zero tailpipe emissions vehicles by 2040,” the company said in a statement.
The initial 50 EVs will service Toronto, Montreal, and Surrey but the fleet will expand as additional chargers are installed across the country.
Powered by General Motors’ (GM) Ultium Platform, the Zevo 600 is designed for last mile deliveries with an estimated range of up to 400km (250 miles) on a full charge.
FedEx will eventually operate 2,500 of these EVs in North America, including the 400 now in use in Southern California. Eighty charging stations have been installed in these three EV launch markets.
The EVs are assembled in Canada.
The company plans for half of its global PUD vehicle purchases to be electric by 2025, rising to 100% by 2030.
BrightDrop is making the Zevo 600s at GM’s CAMI Assembly plant in Ontario after spending C$1bn to convert the former Geo/Suzuki ICE vehicle plant into Canada’s first large scale EV factory.
CAMI reopened in December 2022 with the first Zevo 600 coming off the assembly line after a seven month retooling, said to be “the fastest plant conversion in GM’s history”.
Canada has one of the largest e-cargo bike fleets in the FedEx global network with 40 operating in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. It has also been piloting developments like the BrightDrop Trace Move, an electric cart to assist couriers, in Toronto.
BrightDrop is a wholly owned GM subsidiary.
