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Driver of a GM electric van achieves 418km on a single charge, sets world record

Jed John Ikoba — Sun, 24 Apr 2022 16:52:54 +0000

Stephen Marlin, a driver of a GM BrightDrop Zevo 600 electric van has inked his name into the Guinness World Records via his remarkable feat. The driver drove his GM electric van for 260 miles (418km) on a single charge. This happens to be the longest distance traveled by an electric van on a single charge. Marlin’s achievement was announced by General Motors, whose electric van arm manufactured the BrightDrop Zevo.

Marlin drove his Zevo 600 from New York City to Washington D.C., which is a trip of about 418km (or 260 miles) on April 20, 2022. BrightDrop spokesperson, Jessica Kerr stated that Marlin was the first person to achieve a distance of 260 miles. Marlin was driving the electric vehicle under logistics giant, FedEx when he accomplished the feat. The BrightDrop Zevo 600 is an all-electric, zero tailpipe emissions delivery van with impressive capabilities.

The driver was transporting a package of sustainable cleaning products from Full Circle, a FedEx customer. Marlin had set his eyes on the record and he was supported by BrightDrop and FedEx. Officially, the Zevo 600 has a 250-mile range, but Marlin was able to squeeze more traction from the vehicle to reach 260 miles. BrightDrop is highlighting its vehicle after this World Record delivery. It says the delivery highlights the advanced capabilities and clean advantage of the electric van. The BrightDrop Zevo 600 has had a remarkable trajectory and it is the fastest vehicle to market by GM.

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FedEx receives its first set of electric delivery vans from GM’s BrightDrop

Jed John Ikoba — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 16:36:54 +0000

Logistics giant FedEx has taken delivery of the first batch of General Motors’ BrightDrop electric delivery vans. This marks a milestone as the company continues to transit its operations into sustainable carbon-neutral ideals. Earlier this year when BrightDrop, the logistics and electric delivery arm of GM, was launched, FedEx placed an order of 500 electric delivery vans.

The collaboration between FedEx and BrightDrop has now culminated in the delivery of the first set of electric Light Commercial Vehicles (eLCVs), named the EV600. FedEx has now confirmed taking delivery of the first five units of the EV600. Some images of the new EV600 electric delivery vans were also shared by FedEx.

The EV600 is powered by GM’s Ultium platform and the van has an estimated range of up to 250 miles (402.3km) on a full charge. The EV600 offers more than 600 cubic feet (17 cubic meters) of cargo space.

FedEx had put 2040 as its target for its global pickup and delivery (PUD) fleet to go all-electric.The EV600 delivery vans are to be deployed at FedEx’s Express facility in Inglewood, California. According to Mitch Jackson, Chief Sustainability Officer of FedEx, the addition of the BrightDrop EV600 EVs into its fleet is a historic moment for both companies. The milestone keys into FedEx’s strategic plans to transform its pickup and delivery fleet to electric vehicles. The move also keys squarely into the ambitious sustainability goals already outlined by FedEx.

Travis Katz, President, and CEO of BrightDrop, also weighed in on the momentous occasion, coming barely a year after the formation of BrightDrop. For Katz, as eCommerce continues to blossom, the company’s mission is to dramatically reduce vehicle emissions from delivery vans. He also stated that FedEx has ambitious sustainability goals and the collaboration with FedEx shows how the private sector can innovate and help bring solutions to climate and emissions-related challenges.

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Chip shortage forces GM to remove heated seats & steering wheel functions from some of its cars

Jed John Ikoba — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 16:57:55 +0000

The global chip shortage remains a very critical issue in a wide array of manufacturing fields as companies grapple with meeting their production targets amidst the continuing chip shortage. General Motors have had some of its key components like heated seats and heated steering wheels dropped as a temporary measure.

General Motors had confirmed a few days back that it will not be offering heated and ventilated seats or heated steering wheels on some Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC vehicles due to lack of supplies of the relevant chips to automate these components. The temporary measures will affect vehicles on the 2022 lineup, as the company seeks ways to overcome the semiconductor shortage and prevent production from stalling.

On the surface, it seems these changes are just minor adjustments that should not significantly affect the comfort of passengers in these vehicles. However, heated seats are among the very popular features and options that attract the attention of new buyers. General Motors insist that the changes are temporary pending when the company’s chip supplies improve substantially. Although GM was silent on how long the new approach will last, industry watchers had projected that the global chip shortage could extend deep into 2022, across all segments of the tech ecosystem.

The changes are not across all trims; hence some vehicles will still adorn these features. The changes will also reflect in the price of the models, as they will be priced lower than the models sporting these features. Shoppers will see the changes on the vehicle’s label and a credit on the price for the missing feature. General Motors says it has had significant improvements in its chip supplies and its plants across the US are working, some overtime to clear the production backlog. A few other features which were excluded previously like the side blind zone alert and Super Cruise have now been restored.

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