General Motors is unveiling its new division called BrightDrop, which offers the automakers an entire “ecosystem” of software, services, electric trucks and other equipment to provide shippers with eco-friendly first to last-mile delivery.
BrightDrop offers a smarter way to deliver goods and services. We are building on our significant expertise in electrification, mobility applications, telematics and fleet management, with a new one-stop-shop solution for commercial customers to move goods in a better, more sustainable way.”
~ GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra said in unveiling the new operation
The automaker said that it is launching BrightDrop because the automaker expects the U.S. market for food and parcel, delivery and reverse logistics to top $850 billion by 2025.
Further it added, that the World Economic Forum estimates that demand for urban last-mile delivery will grow 78 percent by 2030 thanks to eCommerce. That’s expected to increase the number of delivery vehicles in the world’s top 100 cities by 36 percent increase.
The company looks at it as creating a market opportunity for eco-friendly solutions, as experts predict the increased shipping demands will boost delivery-related carbon emissions by nearly one-third.
GM believes it can use its electric-car expertise to help. Like, plans call for BrightDrop to initially offer a new “electric pallet” called the EP1 to automatically deliver goods from a truck’s cargo bay to a customer’s front door.
The company said EP1, which is to be available early this year, will help reduce package touch points, costs and physical strain on delivery drivers.
Later this year, the company expects to roll out a new EV600 electric light truck that the company says is “purpose-built for the delivery of goods and services over long ranges.”
The zero-emissions EV600 will be able to travel as much as 250 miles on a single charge, offer more than 600 cubic feet of cargo space and recharge at 170 miles of range per hour using special direct-current equipment.
“Early customer interest in the EV600 has been strong, with the first vehicles to be delivered by the end of this year,” GM said in a statement. “BrightDrop expects to make the EV600s available to more customers to order starting in early 2022.”
GM informed that it developed such products through a pilot program with FedEx Express, which found the EP1s helped couriers safely handle 25 percent more packages per day, with workers finding the device easy to easy to maneuver and allowing them to reduce physical strain. FedEx Express also plans to become the first buyer of GM’s EV600s, receiving vehicles beginning later this year.
Our need for reliable, sustainable transportation has never been more important. BrightDrop is a perfect example of the innovations we are adopting to transform our company as time-definite express transportation continues to grow.”
~ Richard Smith, regional president of the Americas and executive vice president of global support for FedEx Express
Smith further added, “With this new suite of products, we will help improve the safety, security and timeliness of FedEx Express deliveries while reducing our environmental impact and protecting the well-being of our couriers,”
