Electrification, autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence are beginning to open up endless opportunities, some of which are still unforeseen.
General Motors (NYSE: GM) said today that BrightDrop* is expanding its business and product portfolio with the launch of a new temperature-controlled eCart that can streamline order fulfillment and pickup for online grocery purchases. Online grocery is an expanding market that’s expected to reach $240 billion by 2025, GM said.
Kroger (NYSE: KR), a large unionized grocery chain, is scheduled to be the first customer to introduce the so-called BrightDrop Trace Grocery into its e-commerce operations beginning this year. Trace Grocery is available to order in limited quantities today, with full availability expected in 2024. BrightDrop and Kroger completed an initial pilot program in Lexington and Versailles, Kentucky. During this pilot, it’s claimed “Kroger experienced a noticeable improvement in the customer and associate experience.”
Trace Grocery GM says “helps streamline that process for grocers by allowing employees to put orders directly into the unit before stationing it curbside for customer retrieval. With access given after digital verification, Trace Grocery is compatible with most grocers’ existing online fulfillment apps, enabling flexibility for customers when retrieving their purchases. The unit’s ability to easily move inside and outside of a store, while providing access to customers without an employee present, allows grocers to explore new ways to get products closer to shoppers’ doorsteps.”
The BrightDrop Trace Platform is designed for last-mile fulfillment, the Trace Grocery features and benefits include:
- Temperature management to store items at food-safe temperatures for up to four hours
- Propulsion-assistance to move up to 350 pounds of groceries, helping reduce physical strain on the labor force
- Auto-braking to stop the electric motor that matches an operator’s walking speed up to 3 mph
- Nine compartments to segment items by order, temperature and product type for optimized pickups
- Flexibility to easily maneuver inside and outside of a grocer’s store to help reduce costly staging and infrastructure requirements
- Weatherproofing to handle variable temperatures and outdoor elements with ease
BrightDrop comes out of GM’s Global Innovation organization and joins other recently launched Global Innovation startups, such as OnStar Insurance, OnStar Guardian and GM Defense. GM in the past has a mixed history of studying, sometimes introducing and then maybe making money on innovations.
*BrightDrop uses GM’s Ultium EV platform in the commercial vehicle segment. It has Level 2 and DC fast charging capabilities. FedEx Express is the first customer of BrightDrop. An EP1 pilot program has been completed. During the pilot, FedEx Express couriers were able to handle 25% more packages per day with the EP1s. FedEx couriers said that the EP1s were easy to maneuver and reduced physical strain.
BrightDrop has secured more than 25,000 EV production reservations and letters of intent while delivering ~100 EVs making it one of the nation’s largest deployments of commercial electric delivery vans to date. The BrightDrop Trace Platform, including Trace Grocery, is available today. Full-scale availability of the Trace Grocery is expected in 2024 with advanced customizable capabilities planned for future release.
BrightDrop EV600 – EV 600 is an electric light commercial vehicle purpose-built for the delivery of goods and services over long ranges. It will combine zero-emissions driving with advanced safety and convenience items more common in consumer electric vehicles.
EV600 items and aids include:
- Powered by the Ultium battery system, the EV600 is targeted to have an estimated range of up to 250 miles on a full charge.
- Peak charge rate of up to 170 miles of EV range per hour via 120kW DC fast charging.
- Over 600 cubic feet of cargo area.
- Available at a GVWR of less than 10,000 pounds.
- Leading safety items are Front and Rear Park Assist, Automatic Emergency Braking, Forward Collision Alert, Following Distance Indicator, Front Pedestrian Braking, Lane Keep Assist with Lane Departure Warning, IntelliBeam automatic high beams and HD Rear Vision Camera.
- Optional safety and driver assistance items are Rear Cross Traffic Braking, Blind Zone Steering Assist, Reverse Automatic Braking, HD Surround Vision, Rear Pedestrian Alert, Enhanced Automatic Emergency Braking.
- Cargo area security system with motion sensors to help keep cargo secure.
- A 13.4-inch-diagonal, full-color infotainment screen.
- Front sliding pocket doors, wide cabin walkways and a large auto-open cargo bulkhead door all contribute to optimize driver efficiency.
AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
BrightDrop eCart – GM Suddenly Joins Grocery Industry
Electrification, autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence are beginning to open up endless opportunities, some of which are still unforeseen.
General Motors (NYSE: GM) said today that BrightDrop* is expanding its business and product portfolio with the launch of a new temperature-controlled eCart that can streamline order fulfillment and pickup for online grocery purchases. Online grocery is an expanding market that’s expected to reach $240 billion by 2025, GM said.
Kroger (NYSE: KR), a large unionized grocery chain, is scheduled to be the first customer to introduce the so-called BrightDrop Trace Grocery into its e-commerce operations beginning this year. Trace Grocery is available to order in limited quantities today, with full availability expected in 2024. BrightDrop and Kroger completed an initial pilot program in Lexington and Versailles, Kentucky. During this pilot, it’s claimed “Kroger experienced a noticeable improvement in the customer and associate experience.”
Trace Grocery GM says “helps streamline that process for grocers by allowing employees to put orders directly into the unit before stationing it curbside for customer retrieval. With access given after digital verification, Trace Grocery is compatible with most grocers’ existing online fulfillment apps, enabling flexibility for customers when retrieving their purchases. The unit’s ability to easily move inside and outside of a store, while providing access to customers without an employee present, allows grocers to explore new ways to get products closer to shoppers’ doorsteps.”
The BrightDrop Trace Platform is designed for last-mile fulfillment, the Trace Grocery features and benefits include:
BrightDrop comes out of GM’s Global Innovation organization and joins other recently launched Global Innovation startups, such as OnStar Insurance, OnStar Guardian and GM Defense. GM in the past has a mixed history of studying, sometimes introducing and then maybe making money on innovations.
*BrightDrop uses GM’s Ultium EV platform in the commercial vehicle segment. It has Level 2 and DC fast charging capabilities. FedEx Express is the first customer of BrightDrop. An EP1 pilot program has been completed. During the pilot, FedEx Express couriers were able to handle 25% more packages per day with the EP1s. FedEx couriers said that the EP1s were easy to maneuver and reduced physical strain.
BrightDrop has secured more than 25,000 EV production reservations and letters of intent while delivering ~100 EVs making it one of the nation’s largest deployments of commercial electric delivery vans to date. The BrightDrop Trace Platform, including Trace Grocery, is available today. Full-scale availability of the Trace Grocery is expected in 2024 with advanced customizable capabilities planned for future release.
BrightDrop EV600 – EV 600 is an electric light commercial vehicle purpose-built for the delivery of goods and services over long ranges. It will combine zero-emissions driving with advanced safety and convenience items more common in consumer electric vehicles.
EV600 items and aids include:
AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.