Merchants Fleet orders 5,400 more BrightDrop trucks
The US fleet management company Merchants Fleet has placed another large order for electric delivery vans with the General Motors brand BrightDrop. Having already ordered 12,600 EV600s, Merchants Fleet is now ordering 5,400 of the recently unveiled smaller EV410 offshoot.
With the current order and the 12,600 EV600s already ordered in February, Merchants Fleet has now ordered a total of 18,000 electric vans from the GM brand. The BrightDrop EV600s are known to be delivered to Merchants Fleet from 2023.
BrightDrop announced the EV410 at the end of September, with production scheduled to start in 2023. As an offshoot of the EV600, the EV410 adopts some features of its big brother: the range is also said to be 250 miles (402 kilometres), which suggests that the EV410 also incorporates Ultium’s battery technology. The dimensions are naturally somewhat smaller. The cargo space holds 400 cubic feet (11.3 cubic metres) with an overall vehicle length of 20 feet (six metres) and a wheelbase of just over 150 inches (3.8 metres). BrightDrop puts the gross vehicle weight rating at “less than 10,000 pounds”, or less than 4.5 tonnes.
“Merchants Fleet’s plan to purchase such a large order of our electric commercial vehicles shows they are serious about leading the fleet industry’s transformation to an all-electric future, and confident in BrightDrop’s ability to bring that vision to life,” said Travis Katz, BrightDrop president and CEO. “The collaboration with Merchants Fleet opens the door for other companies that want to electrify their fleets by providing access to our portfolio of electric vehicles, which is a critical step toward decreasing vehicle-related emissions in the communities where we live.”
Merchants Fleet describes itself as the “fastest-growing fleet management company in the country.” The company offers flexible financing and service options for organisations that want to use, but not buy, vehicles.
“We are dedicated to meeting our fleet clients’ EV needs, from top to bottom,” said Merchants Fleet CEO Brendan P. Keegan. “Every fleet has different requirements, so we need to provide flexibility and offer best-in-class solutions, at every level. The electrification of fleet is no longer in the future – it is here, and we are proud to work with BrightDrop to reach diverse segments and drive this transformation forward.”
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