General Motors has resumed production of its BrightDrop Zevo 600 electric delivery plant at CAMI Assembly in Ingersoll, Ontario, following a pause of two weeks.
GM Authority reported that production resumed on July 31 after the plant was shut down from mid-July due to a battery shortage. A BrightDrop spokesperson confirmed to InsideEVs that production has restarted. "Yes, production at CAMI Assembly resumed on Monday, July 31," the representative said.
General Motors unexpectedly closed the facility on July 18 and idled its workforce for the month, with the Unifor union representing the workers revealing that the reason for the closure was a battery shortage.
Before production was halted, the plant operated for some time with only one shift of employees working out of three and the other two laid off, under a rotation system that saw each shift working two weeks before four weeks of layoff.
As a result of the rolling layoffs and the complete production halt for two weeks, some factory workers were forced to use food banks or rely on donations from other workers, GM Authority reported.
Gallery: BrightDrop Zevo 600 production at CAMI Assembly plant in Ontario
Most employees had exhausted their government Employment Insurance (EI) during the seven-month retooling of CAMI Assembly that made it shift from producing Chevrolet Equinox crossovers to building the BrightDrop Zevo 600. The plant now assembles the Zevo 600 and is expected to start production of the smaller Zevo 400 electric van in the fourth quarter this year.
Both BrightDrop models are powered by GM's Ultium batteries, which are also used in current and upcoming models including the GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Chevrolet Equinox EV, Chevrolet Silverado EV, GM Sierra EV, Cadillac Celestiq, next-generation Chevrolet Bolt EV, as well as future models from other brands, such as Honda and Acura.
GM has also started an expansion to the CAMI plant what will enable on-site assembly of Ultium batteries by the second quarter of 2024. The battery cells will be sourced from GM's Ultium Cells plants, assembled into battery packs at CAMI, and either used in BrightDrop vans or shipped to other EV plants.
The BrightDrop Zevo 600 van offers 600 cubic feet of cargo capacity, has a maximum payload of 2,200 pounds, and can travel 250 miles on a single battery charge. The electric van's GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) is 9,990 pounds, which allows it to avoid the need for special license often required for operating a vehicle with a GVWR exceeding 10,000 pounds.
