GM to Halt Production of BrightDrop EV Truck at Canada Plant

By Paul Vieira

OTTAWA--General Motors said Tuesday it won't resume production of its BrightDrop electric delivery van at its Ingersoll, Ontario, factory, citing weak demand and changes in the regulatory environment.

The company previously said the halt to production, unveiled last April, was temporary, although it led to an initial round of job cuts. GM's Canada unit said there would be further job reductions, without providing details. The plant, about 100 miles west of Toronto, employed 1,200 workers as of early 2025.

"The commercial electric delivery van market developed much slower than expected," the company said in a statement. Changes to regulatory environment and the Trump administration's decision to eliminate tax credits tied to EVs "have made the business even more challenging."

A representative for Unifor, the private-sector union that represents automotive workers, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Some Canadian automotive industry executives believe that U.S. trade policy--namely 25% tariffs on foreign-made vehicles--also played a role. "In normal times, car companies will simply fix their product mistakes within the plants they operate," said Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association trade group in Toronto. "However, with massive uncertainty in tariff talks, instead of assigning a new product to this plant, they're choosing to simply give it up."

GM said it remains committed to its Canadian operations, and that it would work with Unifor to deal with affected employees and talk with policymakers regarding the future of the plant.

Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 21, 2025 10:48 ET (14:48 GMT)