Canada’s first full-scale electric vehicle (EV) plant is officially open, though their first official production isn’t a passenger vehicle.

The project is a joint venture by General Motors and BrightDrop, a commercial delivery and logistics company with all-electric vehicles in mind.  The plant, a retooled CAMI Assembly house, will be the new global manufacturing home of BrightDrop’s vehicles.

The first model, the BrightDrop Zevo 600, has already begun production, with the first unit having rolled off the line today, December 5th. This model is built using GM’s Ultium EV architecture, which has seen use on the GMC Hummer EV pickup and Cadillac LYRIQ; and the Ultium battery technology is even to be used for the future Honda Prologue.

“This milestone represents GM at our best — fast, flexible and first in the industry,” said Mark Reuss, GM president. “The BrightDrop Zevo is a prime example of GM’s flexible Ultium EV architecture, which is allowing us to quickly launch a full range of electric vehicles for our customers. And, as of today, I am proud to call the CAMI EV Assembly team the first full-scale all-electric manufacturing team in Canada.”

GM’s retooling of the facility began on May 1, 2022, turning the assembly line around in just seven months for this new project. Their efforts were aided by investment support from the Canadian government. BrightDrop has announced the start of commercial operations in Canada, with DHL poised to be their first Canadian customer.