GM EV unit BrightDrop expects $1 billion in 2023 revenue, mass production of all-electric delivery vans to start in December
BrightDrop CEO Travis Katz says he’s “charged up” about 2023 and the forecast for the General Motors EV unit to top $1 billion in revenue in 2023.
The announcement, tied to General Motors’ investor day on Thursday, is the first time BrightDrop has released revenue numbers. The company did not release revenue data in 2021, the year it launched, or the current year.
“What we are seeing is an incredible amount of demand,” Katz told CNBC. “This isn’t just about saving the environment or saving the planet. This saves companies money. That’s part of why we’re seeing so much interest even in the middle of a lot of economic uncertainty.”
BrightDrop estimates that operating one of its Zevo all-electric delivery vans costs approximately $10,000 less than a comparable internal combustion engine vehicle. The company has 25,000 reservations and letters of intent from large fleet operators, including Walmart, FedEx and Verizon.
Brightdrop EV600 van
Source: Brightdrop
FedEx and Kroger are also testing the use of BrightDrop’s Trace E-carts, which are motorized pallets that can be used for package or grocery delivery.
“All of these big companies have made commitments to their customers, their shareholders to start to eliminate their carbon emissions. A lot of them have committed to zero emissions goals by 2035 or 2040. So they’re really looking for help and we’re going to help the world’s largest companies meet those goals,” Katz said.
BrightDrop also expects the $30,000 tax credit for commercial EVs in the Inflation Reduction Act to be a tailwind for sales going forward. In December, it will open up a factory in Canada.
GM said at its investor day that it expects EVs to be as profitable as traditional autos by 2025, years ahead of schedule.
“The economics of switching have never been better,” Katz said. “What we’re hearing is when you have dual forces of wanting to meet climate goals, and wanting to save money, it’s a win-win. We’re going to start producing these vans at scale, starting in December, and then ramping up very quickly from there with the goal of getting to 50,000 units of production out of that facility by 2025.”
Katz said BrightDrop will continue to operate as a part of GM, despite being based in Silicon Valley, and there no plans to spin off the EV maker into a separate company.
Tesla average transaction prices (ATPs) in March are estimated at $54,582, higher year-over-year by 3.5% and higher than in February, according to the latest monthly new-vehicle ATP report from Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book.
Average transaction prices for the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y were higher month-over-month and year-over-year in March. Tesla’s sales in Q1 continued their long-term decline after peaking in Q1 2023. Estimates from Kelley Blue Book suggest Tesla’s sales in Q1 2025 were lower year-over-year by more than 8%. Its deliveries were also worse than expected.
New EV prices in March overall are initially estimated by Kelley Blue Book to be $59,205, higher year-over-year by 7.0%. New EV prices increased from the revised higher February ATP of $57,015.
The ATP for an EV last month was nearly 25% higher than the industry average of $47,462, widening the price gap between new EVs and gas-powered cars even more.
But EVs are still seeing heftier incentives than the industry average. In March, the average EV incentive came in at 13.3% of the transaction price – down 1% from February’s revised 14.3% but still well above what gas cars are getting.
So, where are we heading? Higher prices, thanks to Trump’s tariffs. But what that will look like remains to be seen. Erin Keating, executive analyst at Cox Automotive, said, “All signs point to higher prices this summer, as existing ‘pre-tariff’ inventory is sold down to be eventually replaced with ‘tariffed’ inventory. How high prices rise for consumers is still very much to be determined, as each automaker will handle the price puzzle differently.”
Read more: EV incentives surged to 14.8% of ATP in Feb – highest in 5+ years
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BYD just launched the first EVs based on its new Super e-platform with ultra-fast charging. The new Han L sedan and Tang L SUV can gain nearly 250 miles range in 5 minutes, and prices start at just $30,000.
Meet BYD’s new EVs with ultra-fast charging
During a launch event on April 9, BYD introduced the new EV models, claiming its engineers have “achieved the master realm of Chinese technology.”
The Han L and Tang L are the first EVs based on BYD’s 1000V Super e-platform. After unveiling the ultra-fast EV charging platform last month, BYD’s CEO, Wang Chuanfu, said to ease charging anxiety, “The ultimate solution is to make charging as quick as refueling a gasoline car.”
That solution is now here. BYD’s new Han L is available in three trims, starting at just 219,800 yuan ($30,000), lower than the pre-sale price of 270,000 yuan ($36,800).
BYD’s new electric sedan is 5,050 mm long, 1,960 mm wide, and 1,505 mm tall, or about the size of a Tesla Model S (5,021 mm long, 1,987 mm wide, and 1,431 mm tall).
All variants are powered by an 83.2 kWh BYD Blade battery, providing up to 435 miles (701 km) of CLTC driving range. Based on BYD’s 1,000V architecture, the Han L comes with two charge guns with an up to 10C charge rate.
Nearly 250 miles in just 5 minutes?
With ultra-fast charging, the electric sedan can gain 400 km (248 miles) in just five minutes. In six minutes, it can recharge from 10% to 70%, and in just 20 minutes, it can fully recharge (0% to 100%) the battery.
Like all its new EV models, the Han L is equipped with BYD’s God’s Eye smart driving assist system. It features the mid-tier “B” version and DiPilot 300.
BYD’s new electric SUV, the Tang L, is also offered in three trims. It starts at 239,800 yuan ($32,700), also below the pre-sale price of 280,000 yuan ($38,200).
The Tang L is also based on BYD’s 1,000V architecture and ultra-fast charging platform. Powered by a 100.5 kWh battery, it has a CLTC range of up to 435 miles (701 km) and can gain 230 miles (370 km) in 5 minutes. It will take about 30 minutes to go from 0% to 100%.
BYD’s electric SUV is 5,040 mm long, 1996 mm wide, and 1,760 mm tall, or slightly bigger than the new Tesla Model Y Juniper in China (4,797 mm long, 1,920 mm wide, and 1,624 mm tall).
Like the Han L EV, the electric SUV has BYD’s God’s Eye B ADAS system with DiPilot 300. Both the Han L and Tang are available as PHEVs, starting at 209,800 yuan ($28,500) and 229,800 yuan ($31,300).
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The fintech sector is rallying Wednesday following the Trump administration’s announcement of a 90-day pause on planned tariffs.
Affirm was up 20%, Toast and Block rose 13% and PayPal increased 10%.
The 90-day pause doesn’t eliminate the threat of tariffs — it just delays it. Investors are still pricing in risk, including inflation, discretionary pullbacks, hardware import costs and credit exposure.
Legacy payment networks such as Visa and Mastercard, both up 6%, continue to benefit from inflation and their structural ties to nominal GDP. These companies take a percentage of every transaction. That makes rising prices a tailwind.
“If prices are moving up for certain goods and you’re paying with a credit card, it’s actually good for the credit card companies,” said Dan Dolev, a fintech analyst at Mizuho.
Their pricing structure has historically made them resilient during inflationary periods, including recessions. The situation is less rosy for the new wave of consumer lending fintechs.
Affirm, which specializes in allowing consumers to buy now and pay later, could suffer if consumers pull back spending when the pause is lifted as a result of tariffs causing prices to rise. The San Francisco-based company could see its revenue less transaction costs margins — essentially what the company pockets after paying processing fees and customer incentives — drop more than 22% in that scenario, according to a Goldman Sachs estimate on Tuesday.
The adoption of buy now, pay later may rise as consumers hit credit limits, said SIG analyst James Friedman, but he added that the model remains untested in a downturn.
Toast, Block and Fiserv, which was up 6%, develop software used by restaurants and small businesses. Those companies could face rising hardware costs and softening demand from customers if the tariffs go through.
Meanwhile, cross-border payments — one of the most profitable segments for Visa, Mastercard and PayPal — remain under pressure as global travel slows and e-commerce flows adjust to the uncertainties of Trump’s tariffs.
Even remittance players such as Remitly and Western Union, both up 8%, could face longer-term pain if immigration pipelines slow or remittance corridors tighten under regulatory scrutiny. Similar to cross-border commerce, remittances depend on a steady flow of people and transactions, both of which remain fragile.
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