The Zevo 600 makes the trip from New York to Washington DC on a single charge

GM’s sub-brand BrightDrop is offering electric vehicles designed for urban parcel delivery. But the brand’s flagship model, the Zevo 600, has been quite an adventure, managing to bring to market an efficient electric vehicle that has a remarkable range for a delivery van, designed for short and efficient journeys.

A model intended for FedEx, the brand’s main customer, has been able to make the trip from New York to Washington DC, a 416-kilometre route completed on a single charge. The journey included several stops, specifically in the cities of Philadelphia and Baltimore, but it did not charge in these cities.

A record to validate electric freight transport

This electric van has shown that electric mobility is not only viable for last-mile delivery, but can also offer good range should longer journeys be necessary. A way to decarbonise delivery fleets and allow electrification to take its place within them.

This has been just one of the records this electric vehicle has broken. It was initially designed and developed in just 20 months, from the start of the concept to the start of production. In that time it was manufactured and brought to market, with the first services carried out in record time.

The delivery trip started at the company Full Circle in New York and ended at MOM’s Organic Market, a chain of organic produce stores. In other words, it was not a publicity stunt but a real service, although monitored and certified by Guinness World Records, which verified the journey on a single charge.

As for its characteristics, the BrightDrop Zevo 600 offers a cargo capacity of 16,990 litres and a maximum payload of 1,000 kg, making it very practical for parcel transport. It is built on GM’s Ultium platform, and we have already seen its range. According to the company, around 25,000 units of the Zevo 600 and the slightly smaller Zevo 400 model have been reserved in total.