Though overall demand growth for all-electric vehicles has lagged behind expectations as of late, Ford has had no trouble finding customers for its E-Transit van in the commercial fleet world. The automaker continues to rack up orders for its EV van in spite of the emergence of several rivals, including one from right across town – General Motors and its BrightDrop division. However, GM now plans to fold the BrightDrop name into an existing brand in what amounts to a pretty notable change.
According to GM Authority, Ford’s cross-town rival has decided to market its BrightDrop vans under the Chevrolet brand starting with the 2025 model year, a move that makes a lot of sense given the latter’s built-in brand recognition. At the same time, this decision effectively expands Chevy’s EV portfolio a little over three years after BrightDrop debuted at the 2021 Consumer Electronics Show. GM notes that the decision also provides customers with “access to one of the industry’s largest and most extensive commercial sales and service networks.”
“With the addition of BrightDrop to the Chevrolet lineup, we are combining advanced EV technology with the dependability and widespread accessibility that only Chevrolet can offer,” said Chevrolet vice president Scott Bell. “This move strengthens our EV offerings and reaffirms our role as a leading commercial brand that enables businesses large and small to get work done.”
GM’s overall EV strategy has undergone its fair share of changes as of late, with the automaker scaling back its production plans as it expects to miss its previous targets in that regard, all while laying off around 1,000 white collar workers. Meanwhile, GM certainly has its work cut out for it in the commercial van space, where Ford has enjoyed some tremendous sales increases over the first half of the year.
We’ll have more on everything Ford’s competition is up to soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for non-stop Ford news coverage.
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