GM made a series of announcements at CES and one of the most unexpected was an all-new business called BrightDrop. Designed to offer an “ecosystem of electric first-to-last-mile products,” BrightDrop looks to tap into growing demand for electric commercial vehicles. However, their ambitions are starting much smaller as BrightDrop’s first product will be an electric pallet / cabinet known as the EP1. Set to be launched soon, the cabinet has been designed to help move goods over short distances such as from a delivery vehicle to a customer’s front door.
The cabinet has a payload capacity of 91 kg and can hold approximately 651 liters of cargo. It
also features adjustable shelves, lockable doors and electric hub motors that
allow it to travel at speeds up to 5 km. The EP1 will be followed by
the EV600, which is a purpose-built delivery van. Detailed specifications
haven’t been announced, but GM confirmed the EV600 will use their Ultium
battery system and have a range of up to 402 km. The delivery van
will also support 120kW DC fast chargers and this means the model can be given
up to 274 km of range in as little as an hour.
On the practical side of things, the EV600
will have sliding pocket doors, wide cabin walkways and over 16,990 liters of cargo space. The van will also come equipped with a
13.4-inch infotainment system and a cargo area security system with motion
sensors. In terms of safety, the van will come standard with automatic
emergency braking, forward collision alert and front pedestrian braking. The
EV600 will also be outfitted with IntelliBeam automatic high beam headlights,
lane keep assist with lane departure warning, front / rear park assist and an
HD rear vision camera.
The EV600 can be equipped with additional
safety features such as rear cross traffic braking, reverse automatic braking,
rear pedestrian alert and blind zone steering assist. A surround vision camera
system will also be available as will other safety features. GM says interest in the EV600 has been strong
and the first vans will be delivered to FedEx by the end of the year. Following
this, GM expects to make the van available to more customers starting in early
2022.
While the EVs are interesting, they’re
just part of BrightDrop’s business. The company also plans to offer an
“integrated, cloud-based software platform, which provides customers visibility
and access to their BrightDrop products through both web and mobile
interfaces.” Among the features are real-time location monitoring as well as
battery and charging management. hat’s just the tip of the iceberg as
BrightDrop is also exploring a number of other concepts. These include a
medium-distance solution that transports multiple EP1s as well as a “rapid
load” delivery vehicle.
While it seems odd that GM is bracing out
into the delivery market, it shouldn’t be surprising as other EV startups are
doing the same. There’s a good reason for this as GM estimates, that by 2025,
the combined market opportunity for parcel, food delivery and reverse logistics
in the United States will be over $850 (£624 / €698) billion.
