GM resumes production of all-electric BrightDrop Zevo 600 delivery van in Ontario

GM resumes production of all-electric BrightDrop Zevo 600 delivery van in Ontario

American automotive giant General Motors (GM) has confirmed that it has resumed series production of the BrightDrop Zevo 600 electric delivery van at the Canadian Automotive Manufacturing Incorporated (CAMI) Assembly Plant in Canada.

The CAMI Assembly Plant, a joint venture between GM and Suzuki Motor corporation, is situated in the Ingersoll area of the Canadian province of Ontario. Production of the BrightDrop Zevo 600 electric van was paused more than a couple of week ago. To be more specific, GM unexpectedly halted production at the facility on 18th of July and resumed it on 31st of July.

Confirming the resumption of the series production of the BrightDrop Zevo 600, a GM representative said, “Yes, production at CAMI Assembly resumed on Monday, July 31.”

The roughly two-week pause at the CAMI Assembly Plant was reportedly caused by an unexpected shortage of Ultium batteries. A representative of the Unifor workers’ union also told reporters that the reason behind the closure was shortage of batteries.

Before halting the production at the plant, the manufacturer decreased the number of shifts from three to one. In other words, only one shift of workers was active under a rotation system. Two-third of workers were thus laid off, which forced some workers to use food banks or depend on donations from other workers.

It is worth noting here that most workers had consumed their government Employment Insurance (EI) during the plant’s 7-month retooling that was made to shift production from the Chevrolet Equinox crossovers to the BrightDrop Zevo 600 electric van. As the plant is already building the Zevo 600, the manufacturer has started making preparations for the smaller Zevo 400 electric van’s production, which is expected to start in the fourth quarter (Q4) of this year.

Both BrightDrop electric vans are powered by GM’s Ultium battery packs, which also power the company’s current and upcoming electric models including the Cadillac Lyriq, GMC Hummer EV, Chevrolet Blazer EV, next-generation Chevrolet Bolt EV, Chevrolet Equinox EV, Chevrolet Silverado EV, and the GM Sierra EV.

As the name suggests, the BrightDrop Zevo 600 electric van offers 600 cubic feet of cargo capacity, with the ability to carry a payload of up to 2,200 pounds. When it comes to range, it can cover a distance of up to 250 miles on a single charge.

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