Electric vehicle makers have faced difficulties in recent months manufacturing and delivering their products to consumers.
Makers of EVs blame global supply chain shortages, scarce availability of semiconductors, covid-related factory shutdowns in China, financial difficulties and even bankruptcy for delaying the delivery of their vehicles to market.
Electric Last Mile Solutions, which had plans to deliver commercial electric delivery vans and even claimed to have a purchase order for 50 vans pending, on June 12 slammed on the brakes and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy to liquidate its assets.
Tesla rival Rivian (RIVN), which is backed by Amazon (AMZN) and Ford (F), lost 7% of the value of its stock on May 16 after it announced it could be delayed in delivering Amazon an order for electric delivery vans because of issues with a supplier, dot.LA reported.
Rivian has an order to deliver 100,000 EV commercial vans to Amazon by 2030, with 10,000 delivered by the end of 2022. The company has said that it will likely produce 25,000 EVs in 2022. It produced 1,015 in 2021.
Rivian was founded in 2009 and went public in 2021. From its factory in Normal, Ill., the carmaker produces three vehicles: the R1T electric pickup, the R1S electric SUV, and the RCV electric commercial van.
BrightDrop
GM Delivers First of 2,500-Vehicle Order
General Motors' (GM) electric vehicle affiliate BrightDrop is on the bright side of the road when it comes to providing electric delivery vehicles to its customers, including FedEx (FDX).
BrightDrop on June 21 said that it provided FedEx its first 150 Zevo 600 electric vehicles in its mission to transform its entire parcel pickup and delivery fleet to all-electric, zero tailpipe emissions by 2040, according to a FedEx statement. GM said that BrightDrop's commercialization of its Zevo 600 was its fastest vehicle to market in its history.
FedEx's first Zevo 600s were delivered throughout Southern California to FedEx Express, one of the world’s largest express transportation companies. The Zevo 600 is powered by GM’s Ultium Platform and is designed for last-mile deliveries, with an estimated range of up to 250 miles on a full charge. The first delivery of 150 vehicles is part of a larger agreement between FedEx and BrightDrop with FedEx purchasing a total of 2,500 Zevo 600s across FedEx operations over the next few years.
“This shows how BrightDrop is delivering sustainable solutions at scale to customers today, and we couldn’t be happier to be part of FedEx’s sustainability journey,” Travis Katz, president and CEO of BrightDrop, said in the statement. “Our Zevo 600 has been a record-setting vehicle from the start. From a record-setting time to market, to delivering one of the largest fleets of electric delivery vans on the road today, BrightDrop is showing the world what sustainable delivery looks like.”
FedEx
Installing 500 Charging Stations
In conjunction with FedEx's electric delivery van purchases, the company is building a charging infrastructure across its network of facilities and has installed 500 charging stations across California.
“At FedEx, we have ambitious sustainability goals, and our phased approach to vehicle electrification is a crucial part of our roadmap to achieve carbon neutral global operations,” Mitch Jackson, chief sustainability officer at FedEx, said in the statement. “In just under six months, we’ve taken delivery of 150 BrightDrop Zevo 600s for our parcel pickup and delivery fleet. In today’s climate of chip shortages and supply chain issues, that’s no ordinary feat and a true testament to the collaboration between FedEx and BrightDrop.”
