On October 21, General Motors (GM) announced that it would discontinue its BrightDrop electric delivery vehicle business, abandoning the product only four years after its launch. General Motors made the decision as it released third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, saying the "commercial electric delivery vehicle market is developing much slower than expected."
The company also attributed the decision to the "changing regulatory environment and the elimination of U.S. tax credits" — which were linked to the Trump administration's second-term lack of support for electric vehicles.
BrightDrop’s production line at its CAMI assembly plant in Ontario, Canada, has been idle since May 2025. At that time, the company also laid off 500 positions due to weak demand. GM said it will next have "meaningful discussions" with Canadian government officials at the plant to discuss future opportunities. Meanwhile, GM told TechCrunch that BrightDrop dealers will "continue to sell and service vehicles until inventory is depleted."
In the context of the current development of the US electric vehicle market, General Motors' abandonment of the BrightDrop project is particularly special. While companies including General Motors set new sales records for electric vehicles in the third quarter, enthusiasm for the models stems in part from a rush to buy ahead of the expiration of federal tax credits that have been terminated by congressional Republicans.
Meanwhile, many major automakers have dialed back their ambitious electric vehicle production and sales plans over the past year. General Motors has promised to have all-electric models by 2035, but the company emphasized in its financial report that it is currently "capable of meeting strong and continued demand for internal combustion engine models." (This change has also been recognized by the capital market, with GM’s stock price rising 14% when the news was released.)
BrightDrop has had many twists and turns since its inception. In 2021, General Motors launched BrightDrop as a start-up under its Global Innovation organization and will operate it independently as a private company. It was unveiled at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the same year, focusing on its advantages over traditional fuel trucks such as "lower total cost of ownership" and "lower maintenance frequency". At that time, the epidemic was driving the e-commerce industry to surge. Major companies such as FedEx were vigorously promoting the goal of carbon neutrality. The market demand for electric delivery vehicles was bullish, and BrightDrop seemed to be gaining momentum.
But just two years later, GM merged BrightDrop into its overall fleet business GM Envolve, and BrightDrop CEO Travis Katz resigned. Subsequently, some BrightDrop delivery trucks were recalled due to fires. At the beginning of 2024, GM transferred this business to the Chevrolet Commercial Vehicle Division. This year, BrightDrop's actual sales remain sluggish, with only more than 1,500 units sold in the first half of 2025.
It's unclear exactly why GM has struggled with sales of BrightDrop trucks. Despite all signs that the department was not operating smoothly, the decision to close came relatively suddenly. Earlier this month, GM Envolve’s vice president also praised BrightDrop’s partnership with delivery driver organization Frontdoor Collective and infrastructure company Circuit EV in a press release. The partnership originally planned to provide Target with 50 BrightDrop trucks in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
General Motors isn't the only company feeling cold. Ford E-Transit van sales also fell significantly compared with the same period in 2024. In comparison, Rivian has deployed more than 25,000 electric trucks for Amazon in recent years. Los Angeles startup Harbinger has sold more than 200 electric truck chassis since April this year and has just announced its expansion into the Canadian market.