GM offers charging service to accelerate fleet electrification

July 27, 2021
GM’s new charging service, Ultium Charge 360, aims to connect fleets to services, resources, and access to charging providers.

General Motors and BrightDrop, a new business created and wholly owned by GM, unveiled the Ultium Charge 360 fleet charging service. According to GM, Ultium Charge 360 service will integrate with both GM’s fleet management solution, OnStar Vehicle Insights, and the BrightDrop fleet and asset management platform; support a wide range of fleet segments, including delivery, sales, utilities and motor pool; and will help new and existing fleet customers identify providers, tools and solutions required to plan, finance, deploy and operate charging infrastructure in fleet yards and depots.

In addition, GM stated that Ultium Charge 360’s approach to charging will help to enable support for home charging and provide drivers access to more than 60,000 public places to charge while en route. As part of the solution, GM is working with preferred providers, including four depot infrastructure providers – eTransEnergy, a Duke Energy company; EVgo; In-Charge Energy; and Schneider Electric. GM is also expanding existing commercial relationships with Qmerit for home charging and EVgo for public and depot charging to provide fleet owners the flexibility to choose a charging solution that suits their needs.

“Fleets have a significant impact on the transition to EVs and by expanding Ultium Charge 360 to our fleet customers, GM aims to be a significant industry leader to advance fleet EV adoption at scale and accelerate our goal of reaching 1 million EV sales globally by 2025,” said Ed Peper, U.S. vice president, GM Fleet, in a press release. “Fleet electrification is an important element of our growth strategy, and we will leverage our leadership and expertise in this space to support customers at home, at depots and in public with our suite of providers.”

Through Ultium Charge 360, GM Fleet, OnStar Business Solutions (where available) and BrightDrop customers will be able to customize plans and select from preferred providers for their fleet electrification needs in the U.S. and Canada. eTransEnergy, EVgo, In-Charge Energy and Schneider Electric will offer access to on-the-go and depot charging. Customers can also leverage GM’s existing work with Qmerit to help provide in-home installations for fleet drivers, making charging accessible for a range of fleet applications.