GM halts BrightDrop production for six months
Battery assembly, which is also based in Ingersoll, is to be suspended from the end of April in preparation for the production break for electric vans, according to GM. A total of 1,200 employees will be affected by the production break. When production restarts in October, 500 fewer people will be employed at Ingersoll, as the vehicles will then only roll off the production line in one shift instead of the current two.
With production in Canada and the USA as the main sales market for BrightDrop vehicles, it is suspected that the production pause and cancellation of one shift could be linked to US President Donald Trump’s auto tariffs. However, General Motors immediately denied this: “This adjustment is directly related to responding to market demand and re-balancing inventory,” the company said. GM emphasises that even after the production break, BrightDrop production and battery assembly will remain at the plant and will not be relocated to the USA. The pause will be used to prepare the production facilities for the revised 2026 model year.
Canadian labour union Unifor calls the decision a devastating blow to hundreds of working families in Ingersoll and the surrounding region who depend on this plant. “General Motors must do everything in its power to mitigate job loss during this downturn, and all levels of government must step up to support Canadian auto workers and Canadian-made products,” says Unifor President Lana Payne.
The battery assembly plant in Ingersoll, which opened in the summer of 2023, was said at the time to produce batteries not only for BrightDrop production on site, but also for other GM plants in North America that manufacture electric vehicles based on the Ultium platform. These battery packs will be affected by US import duties in future if they are transported to the USA.
General Motors founded BrightDrop in 2021 as a brand for electric vans. BrightDrop initially operated as an independent subsidiary, but was initially incorporated into the Group’s fleet business in 2023 and integrated into the Chevrolet brand in 2024. In view of the growing online trade and the associated last-mile logistics, GM had high expectations for the electric delivery vehicle business.
However, the business is said to have fallen short of expectations. The company has never confirmed whether the sales target of one billion dollars in 2023 was achieved. However, GM only sold around 2,000 BrightDrop vans in 2023 and 2024. 274 vehicles were sold in the first quarter of 2025. A few weeks ago, the Detroit Free Press reported that several hundred unsold BrightDrop vans had been left in a car park in Michigan.
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