General Motors is ending production of its BrightDrop electric delivery van in Ingersoll, Ont. in the latest blow to the province’s automotive sector.
The company says the decision is related to low demand for the model and it isn’t moving production elsewhere.
That’s in contrast to the decision announced last week by Stellantis to move production slated for its Brampton, Ont. plant to the United States.
GM had already halted production at its CAMI plant in Ingersoll in April, leaving more than 1,200 unionized temporarily laid off. The plant was supposed to restart operations in November with a single shift that would have meant around half that number heading back to work.
Kristian Aquilina, president of GM Canada, said in an interview that there are no firm plans in place for the plant.
“With this news just fresh, we’ll now assess the future opportunities for the plant,” Aquilina said.
“We’re very energized now as a result of this news to find other solutions, but we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. We’re looking at various opportunities.”
GM opened the CAMI plant for BrightDrop production in 2023, hailed at the time as the first full-scale electric-vehicle manufacturing plant in Canada.
The outlook for electric vehicles, especially specialized ones like BrightDrop, has however shifted as U.S. President Donald Trump has worked to reverse policies meant to speed up the adoption of zero emission vehicles.
“With the evolving regulatory framework and the end of federal consumer incentives, it is now clear that near-term EV adoption will be lower than planned,” GM chief executive Mary Barra said in a letter to shareholders Tuesday.
“That is why we are reassessing our EV capacity and manufacturing footprint.”
