After being named its first customer in January 2021, FedEx has continued to receive vehicles from BrightDrop, General Motors’ (GM) electric delivery and logistics business.
FedEx is eventually expected to incorporate 2,500 of the electric vehicles (EVs) — called Zevo 600s — into its fleet, and already, 400 of them are being operated in Southern California.
Now, the delivery services giant is also bringing them into a neighboring country.
FedEx Express Canada has officially received its first 50 Zevo 600s, which are set to service Toronto, Montreal, and Surrey. To support them, the company is installing charging infrastructure at its Canadian facilities and currently has 80 in place in its three 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, VP of operations at FedEx Express Canada, in a press release. “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.”
Powered by the Ultium battery system, each Zevo 600 has an estimated range of up to 250 miles on a full charge, more than 600 feet of cargo space, a 3.4-inch-diagonal infotainment screen, front sliding pocket doors, wide cabin walkways, a cargo area security system with motion sensors, and a large cargo bulkhead door that opens automatically. BrightDrop is manufacturing them at GM’s CAMI Assembly plant in Ontario, having invested nearly one billion Canadian dollars to convert it into the country’s first major EV factory.
FedEx's purchase of the vehicles ties into its electrification goals, as the company wants 50% of its global pickup-and-delivery (PUD) vehicle purchases to be electric by 2025 — a number that’s supposed to rise to 100% by 2030.
Come 2040, FedEx wants its parcel pickup and delivery (PUD) fleet to be entirely composed of electric, zero-emission vehicles, and this target is encompassed in FedEx’s commitment to become carbon neutral by that year.
The company plans to invest $2 billion in the effort, with the funds divided among not just vehicle electrification, but sustainable energy and carbon sequestration. It includes a $100 million commitment to Yale University — company founder Fred Smith's alma mater — so the institution can establish the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture. The hope is that the center will find new methods of carbon sequestration at scale and help offset greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to current airline emissions.
