General Motors has officially opened its CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, making it the first electric vehicle (EV) production facility in Canada. The plant has undergone an extensive retooling to allow it to build the BrightDrop Zevo electric delivery vans.
The first BrightDrop Zevo 600 rolled off the production line at the CAMI plant during a special event this morning, where Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford were both in attendance, joined by executives from GM and BridghtDrop to mark the occasion.
“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.”
The first customer for the BrightDrop delivery vans in Canada will be DHL, which will add them to their fleet early next year.
“Bringing BrightDrop to Canada and starting production at CAMI is a major step to providing EVs at scale, while delivering real results to the world’s biggest brands,” said Travis Katz, BrightDrop president and CEO. “Our international expansion is proof that we can deliver exactly what our customers need where they need it. Having DHL Express Canada come onboard as a new customer shows the confidence legacy brands have in our ability to deliver.”
GM spent close to $1 billion to retool the CAMI plant, which previously produced internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, most recently producing the Chevrolet Equinox. The retooling began on May 1, 2022 and crews were able to complete the renovation that covered 2 million square feet in just seven months.
GM says it expects CAMI to produce up to 50,000 Zevo vans every year by 2025. Production will start in January 2023 with the Zevo 600 models, followed by the Zevo 400 models later in the year.
