GM to Halt Production of BrightDrop EV Truck at Canada Plant — 2nd Update

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 automaker said it will assess future options for the Canadian factory, which is about 100 miles west of Toronto and employed about 1,200 workers at the start of 2025.

The decision is the latest blow for Canada's auto sector, which is struggling due to President Trump's 25% tariff on all foreign-made cars entering the U.S. Trump has previously said he wants automakers to relocate foreign factories to the U.S., and that the U.S. doesn't need cars produced in Canada. Last week, Stellantis said it would relocate production of its Jeep Compass model from Canada to Illinois, as part of a broader $13 billion expansion of its U.S. manufacturing presence.

GM said last April the halt to BrightDrop's production was temporary, although it led to an initial round of job cuts.

"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."

Unifor, the private-sector union that represents automotive workers, and other domestic auto-industry groups said Trump's policies are to blame. "The reality is that [the factory] was hit from both directions by Trump as he aggressively acted to undo EV supports and hit Canadian auto assembly plants with a 25% tariff," said Lana Payne, Unifor's president. "Now more than 1,000 workers and their families are paying the price for Trump's political interference and GM's failure to hold the line."

"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. Earlier this year, GM said it would eliminate one of the shifts at its plant in Oshawa, Ontario, citing U.S. trade policy.

Back in 2022, the Canadian government provided GM with more than $180 million in financing to retool the Ingersoll factory, known as CAMI, to help restore production of full-sized trucks and electric-delivery vehicles. Canadian Industry Minister Melanie Joly told reporters on Tuesday that officials would work to ensure "there are new models coming back to Ingersoll." She added she would hold GM accountable for money provided to help develop the BrightDrop.

Joly has threatened to sue Stellantis to seek compensation after Canada and the province of Ontario provided the company with about $710 million to modernize its Canadian operations and maintain production at its plants in Windsor, Ontario and Brampton, Ontario.

The U.S. and Canada are in talks about tariff relief in the steel and aluminum sectors. Canada is America's biggest foreign supplier of both metals, and they face a 50% tariff. The talks at this time are not focused on the automotive sector, Canadian officials say.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 21, 2025 12:44 ET (16:44 GMT)