GM’s BrightDrop EV Sets Record in Rush to Mass Production

General Motors’ electric commercial vehicle subsidiary BrightDrop celebrated Earth Day by setting a record 260 miles from New York to Washington DC on a single charge. As every fifth grader knows, a record isn’t a record until it’s verified by the betting experts at the Guinness brewery, who have declared it an official Guinness World Record.

The vehicle, which will be used as a FedEx package delivery vehicle, has been re-branded as the Zevo 600 instead of the original EV600 name. The “600” part of the name refers to the van’s cargo capacity in cubic feet. By comparison, brown UPS trucks are 700 cubic feet.

A 260-mile highway run doesn’t seem too important for urban commuter use, as low-speed stop-and-go urban driving suffers from lower aerodynamics and offers more opportunity to recover energy under braking, so range urban can. be longer.

However, the ability to drive straight from New York to Washington helps show that the Zevo 600, 20-module Ultium battery pack is more than up to the task of urban driving. This is important, according to FedEx’s chief sustainability officer Mitch Jackson, because the extra layer means trucks won’t need to be charged every day and won’t need to be charged to 100 percent all the time. Recharge cycles and 100 percent charges are important factors that reduce battery life, so it’s important to avoid them.

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“The extra chain gives us the ability to charge opportunistically,” Jackson explained. “You don’t have to pay a full charge for every car every night. If you can go to 80 percent and meet your (delivery driving) needs, that’s a big deal for us.”

Shippers like FedEx maximize their investment in vehicles by using them as long as possible, so as they transition to electric vehicles, it will be important to be gentle on their batteries for long-term use. “We like to keep these cars for a long time,” Jackson said.

The cost of fueling and maintaining these vehicles is another important factor for shipping operators like FedEx. Walmart plans to buy 5,000 of the 28-foot Zevo 600s and Verizon Wireless plans to buy a fleet of 20-foot and 410-foot capacity Zevo 410s. Total BrightDrop orders now top 25,000, according to the company.

In addition to longevity, low fuel and maintenance costs are important to these customers, and BrightDrop predicts annual savings of $7,000 for companies that use the Zevo 600 instead of a conventional diesel-powered commercial vehicle. At least, that was an early, conservative estimate. Based on the recent spike in oil prices, “We could see that double,” BrightDrop chief revenue officer Steve Hornyak said.

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It’s not just fuel that costs less. “EVs are easier to maintain because they have fewer moving parts,” observed Jackson.

BrightDrop’s challenge is to fill all these orders. Currently, the company uses Kuka Systems for assembly, which was critical to the company’s ability to produce cars just 20 months after the product was announced. Later this year mass production will begin at GM’s CAMI assembly plant in Ontario, Canada.

Rapid production progress was also facilitated by BrightDrop’s use of the same materials as GM’s Ultium drivetrain GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, and other upcoming GM EVs. While the Hummer carries 24 battery modules with a total capacity of 205 kilowatt hours, the Zevo 600 has 20 of those modules, giving the van a capacity of 170 kWh.

The Zevo 600 can charge DC at a rate of 120 kW or for daily charging it can charge at 11.5 kW using an AC Level 2 charger. Its front and rear electric motors produce 300 horsepower and 390 lb.-ft. torque through all four wheels. Behind the wheel, this power is delivered easily, without the sudden squeal that sometimes causes even high-end EVs like the Nissan Leaf to pull away from traffic signals with an unexpected tire screech.

This is because the engineers on the BrightDrop team created a specific power delivery to mimic that of the 6.2-liter GM DuraMax V8 diesel used in trucks today. Drivers who are used to the response they get from their diesel trucks today will have exactly the same experience when they switch to electric power in the future.

The car is well thought out, with a lower height of 15 inches compared to the standard 18 inch step as a greeting. The driver’s seat is high, naturally, with good visibility through the wide windshield and electrically adjustable exterior mirrors.

As promised, the power delivery is smooth, making it easy to pull off the curb seamlessly and quietly. The steering is fairly straightforward for a commercial vehicle and the single pedal drive that allows quick start and stop of the vehicle without the need to use the brake pedal works efficiently.

Unlike most commercial vehicles, the Zevo 600 enjoys a full range of GM safety features such as Front and Rear Park Assist, Automatic Emergency Locking, Forward Collision Warning, Distance Indicator, Front Pedestrian Braking, Lane Keeping Assist Keep Assist with Lane Departure Warning, IntelliBeam Automatic. High Beams, and HD Rear Vision Camera. Additional optional features include Rear Cross Traffic Braking, Blind Spot Assist, Automatic Reverse, HD Surround Vision, Rear Pedestrian Alert, and Enhanced Automatic Emergency Locking.

In addition to the driver’s side airbags, the Zevo 600 also has airbags for the right side passenger seat, where delivery trucks often carry an assistant during busy periods such as December.

On the road, there is a bit of noise from the door that divides the cockpit from the cargo area, but professional drivers are probably used to that. Some of the welds on the aluminum bulkhead separating the two looked less than skillfully executed, so hopefully the welders will get better with experience.

If that’s the main challenge for BrightDrop to overcome in ramping up mass production in November, the company can consider this a job well done.