FedEx Express Canada launches 50 EVs with BrightDrop
by CM Staff
The introduction of BrightDrop's electric vans into the FedEx fleet in Canada is a step in the company's goal to transform its entire parcel pickup and delivery (PUD) fleet to all-electric, zero-tailpipe emissions vehicles.
FedEx Express Canada team member loading a new Zevo 600 electric vehicle. (CNW Group/Federal Express Canada Corporation)
MISSISSAUGA — FedEx Express Canada officially welcomed its first 50 BrightDrop Zevo 600 electric delivery vehicles at an event in Toronto attended by Victor Fedeli, Member of Provincial Parliament (Nipissing) and Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Julie Dabrusin, Member of Parliament (Toronto-Danforth) and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Natural Resources, FedEx customers, and FedEx team members from the company’s downtown Toronto operations. The introduction of BrightDrop’s electric vans into the FedEx fleet in Canada is a step in the company’s goal to transform its entire parcel pickup and delivery (PUD) fleet to all-electric, zero-tailpipe emissions vehicles by 2040.
This initial fleet of 50 electric vehicles (EVs) will service Toronto, Montreal, and Surrey. FedEx Express Canada plans to expand its EV fleet footprint as additional charging infrastructure is implemented at FedEx locations across the country. Powered by General Motors’ (GM) Ultium Platform, the Zevo 600 is designed for last-mile deliveries, with an estimated range of up to 400 kilometres on a full charge. These 50 EVs are part of a larger agreement between FedEx and BrightDrop that will see FedEx incorporate 2,500 total vehicles across FedEx operations in the coming years, including more than 400 vehicles that are already in operation in Southern California. To support the new vehicle technology, FedEx is installing charging infrastructure across its Canadian facilities, including the 80 charging stations the company has already installed in these three EV launch markets.
“FedEx Express Canada is proud of the role we’re playing to help our company work toward the goal of carbon neutral operations globally by 2040,” said Dean Jamieson, vice president of operations at FedEx Express Canada. “Working with companies like BrightDrop that are helping to build these solutions, right here in our own backyard, shows how Canada is helping to bring more sustainable solutions to life across a variety of industries.”
Assembled in Canada, these light commercial vehicles help to advance FedEx Express—a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., one of the world’s largest express transportation companies—on its journey toward an all-electric delivery fleet.
BrightDrop is manufacturing the Zevo 600s at GM’s CAMI Assembly plant in Ontario. GM invested nearly one billion Canadian dollars to convert CAMI into Canada’s first large-scale EV factory. CAMI reopened in December 2022 with the first Zevo 600 rolling off the assembly line after a seven-month retooling, the fastest plant conversion in GM’s history.
“FedEx is a key collaborator in our journey to help reduce carbon emissions for deliveries,” said Steve Hornyak, chief commercial officer at BrightDrop. “As our first customer to deploy Zevos in the U.S. and Canada, FedEx is showing the world how the addition of electric vehicles can help achieve ambitious sustainability goals and improve the communities we live and work in.”
