GM is recalling dozens of BrightDrop electric vehicles after two caught fire.

General Motors is recalling dozens of BrightDrop electric vehicles after the front-wheel drive units, known as powertrains, on at least two of them caught fire late last year.

In paperwork filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Jan. 11, GM said it is recalling 66 of the model year 2022 EV600 (which GM is now calling Zevo 600) BrightDrop pickup trucks.

GM said in NHTSA submission is still investigating the root cause of the problem, which it believes was limited to its larger EV600 vehicles built between November 24, 2021 and May 24, 2022. BrightDrop also offers the smaller Zevo 400 vehicle.

“General Motors is voluntarily recalling a small number of model year 2022 BrightDrop EV600 (Zevo 600) vehicles. These vehicles may have a manufacturing defect in the front drive unit,” GM spokesman Bill Grotz told the Detroit Free Press in a letter virtual “The safety of our products is the highest priority for the entire GM team, and we’re working to fix this quickly. It’s important to our customers.”

GM said in its filing with NHTSA that it received a report of an underhood fire in a 2022 BrightDrop EV600 on Dec. 7, and another on Dec. 13. GM began an investigation into the fire on Dec. 22 and decided on a recall on Jan. 4. Both affected vehicles were owned by one GM Fleet customer, whom GM did not name.

Grotz said GM was not aware of any accidents, injuries or deaths related to the fire. But in its filing, GM said, “If an underhood fire occurs, there is a significant risk of injury.”

A preliminary investigation by the automaker indicated that the vehicles may have a manufacturing defect that, “in high-speed applications, could allow the drive shaft to cut its way through the outer side of the drive unit case,” the cover and NHTSA said. The result could be an oil leak that could lead to an underhood fire, the filing said.

Last year, BrightDrop delivered a total of 497 vehicles, 483 of which were the larger Zevo 600 models and 14 were the smaller Zevo 400 models.

The reminder comes after GM was announced in November that it would adopt BrightDrop across its brands to facilitate its commercial EV business. GM launched BrightDrop in 2021 as a wholly owned subsidiary. The automaker made an $800 million investment to convert the CAMI Assembly plant in Canada into an EV factory to build the vehicles. In the United States, BrightDrop has more than 30 customers including Walmart, Hertz, FedEx, Merchants Fleet and Verizon.

In July 2023, GM recalled 92 BrightDrop Zevo 600 trucks due to a water seal problem in the vehicle’s high-capacity battery pack, according to NHTSA records. In October 2023, GM recalled 234 Zevo 600 vehicles due to possible airbag defects, according to NHTSA submission.

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