GM opens full-scale EV plant to build BrightDrop Zevo vans

CAMI employees celebrate the opening of Canada’s first full-scale EV plant that will build BrightDrop Zevo fully electric delivery vans in Ingersoll, Ont. Photo Credit: General Motors Co.

General Motors Co. and its subsidiary business BrightDrop have officially opened what’s being called Canada’s first full-scale electric-vehicle manufacturing plant.

With investment support from the federal and Ontario provincial government, GM has completely retooled the CAMI Assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont., to become the new global manufacturing home of BrightDrop’s fully electric delivery vans.

The opening was attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

BrightDrop also announced the commencement of commercial operations in Canada, with DHL slated to be the company’s first Canadian customer.

The first BrightDrop Zevo 600 rolled off the CAMI production line on Dec. 5, marking what GM calls “a new chapter” in EV production in Canada and a significant step in the fight against climate change. Following a launch for GM, BrightDrop completed delivery of the first Zevo 600s to FedEx last year.

“This milestone represents GM at our best — fast, flexible and first in the industry,” said Mark Reuss, GM president. “The BrightDrop Zevo is a prime example of GM’s flexible Ultium EV architecture, which is allowing us to quickly launch a full range of electric vehicles for our customers. And, as of today, I am proud to call the CAMI EV Assembly team the first full-scale all-electric manufacturing team in Canada.”

GM began retooling CAMI for electric vehicle production on May 1, 2022, and in the seven months since then, the team installed entirely new production equipment covering 2 million square feet.