Taking Stock

Publisher | Delon Rashid (416) 459-0063 delon@turnkey.media

Editor | Emily Atkins (416) 262-4106 emily@turnkey.media

Contributing Writers | Andy Adams, Thomas Cook, Norm Kramer, Christian Sivière, Toni Volpato

Creative Director | Samantha Jackson

Video / Audio Engineer | Ashley Mikalauskas, Nicholas Paddison

Sales | Delon Rashid, (416) 459-0063 delon@turnkey.media Peter Bulmer, (585) 653-6768 peter@turnkey.media

Production and Ad-ops | Tracy Stone tracy@turnkey.media

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Are EVs the future? Part 2

A COUPLE ISSUES AGO I wrote about the infrastructure challenges facing companies wanting to adopt electric vehicles into their delivery fleets. I suggested that we are not quite ready for full adoption thanks to the cost of bringing sufficient power supply to existing depots and distribution centres, as well as the as-yet-unsolved challenges of cold-weather operation. The typical EV still loses about 25 percent of its range in cold temperatures.

Nonetheless, it’s extremely good news that Canada’s first full-scale electric vehicle assembly plant has begun production. I was lucky to be able to attend the official opening of GM subsidiary BrightDrop’s new facility in Ingersoll, Ontario on December 5th. It is the old GM Cami plant that until April this year was making the Chevrolet Equinox SUV.

Now it’s been retooled – in the fastest plant conversion in its history, GM says, to produce the Zevo 600 fully electric delivery van. The plant is automated and poised for growth. Full production is slated to begin in January 2023, and a second vehicle – the smaller Zevo 400, will be added to its repertoire later next year. Inside Logistics will have more on the plant and how the retooling went in a future edition.

Perhaps more exciting than the $1.5 billion plant itself was the announcement that DHL Express Canada is the first Canadian customer for the Zevo 600. In addition to be a show of support for a made-in-Canada product, this signals a strong commitment from a northern operator to the concept of EV-powered last-mile delivery. And they’re probably not alone. Other Canadian courier companies were in attendance at the BrightDrop plant opening, and were overheard expressing a strong interest in the vans.

I’m really interested to see how these last-mile delivery companies integrate volumes of EVS into the Canadian space. So far their use has been limited to pilot projects or small scale implementations. But with the federal purchase incentives announced this past summer, I expect there will be more and more basis for assessment of how they do in real-world conditions. (Interestingly, the Zevo 600 is not currently on the list of eligible EVs.)

If your company is considering EVs for your fleet, please drop me a note. I’d be interested in finding a couple operators who’d share their experiences.

With that, I’d like to wish everyone a happy and healthful new year, and every business success in 2023.