1,000 Workhorse Group W-15 Plug-In Electric Pickups on Preorder

Workhorse Group Inc. says that it has received Letters of Intent (LOI) for 1,000 units of its upcoming light-duty Workhorse W-15 Plug-In Electric Pickup truck. The company currently builds medium-duty PHEV work vans for several fleet companies including FedEx, Penske, UPS, Ryder, DHL, USPS, and more.

Most recently, Clean Fuels Ohio, an organization that works with Ohio-based fleets to transition to cleaner vehicles, sent an LOI to Workhorse Group for 500 units of the W-15 Plug-In Electric Pickup trucks. Previously, the company has received LOIs from Duke Energy, Portland General Electric, the City of Orlando, and Southern California Public Power Authority for a combined total of 500 units.

“As a U.S. Department of Energy Clean Cities coalition, Clean Fuels Ohio advocates a wide range of cleaner fuels and technology options such as natural gas, propane, electric drive, efficiency, biofuels and hydrogen. The W-15 will be a key part of our efforts to engage fleets across Ohio in adopting electric vehicles,” said Sam Spofforth, Executive Director, Clean Fuels Ohio, in a release. “We feel the Workhorse W-15 will offer safety, efficiency, advanced technology and the sustainability measuring sticks that many Ohio business and government fleets are looking for when making fleet decisions.”

The Workhorse Group W-15 Plug-In Electric Pickup truck features a pair of direct-drive traction electric motors – one at each axle for all-wheel-drive capability. A Panasonic 18650B Lithium-Ion Battery Pack is mounted low in the frame between the axles much like on Tesla vehicles. A BMW-sourced range-extender engine increases overall vehicle range. The company claims the W15 can travel up to 80 miles per charge plus an additional 310 miles on a tank of fuel when operating as a hybrid. Workhorse Group claims the W-15 has a 75 mpge on all-electric power and 32/28 mpg city/highway with the range-extender. The technology is said to be “an extension of the E-Gen electric technology” used in the companies medium-duty work vans.

The W-15 Plug-In Electric Pickup rides on a steel frame with a 143-inch wheelbase and is 243 inches long overall. At 73.9 inches tall and 80 inches wide, the PHEV pickup will only be offered as a Crew Cab with a standard box. GVRW is rated 7,200 pounds, while max payload is rated 2,220 pounds and max towing is rated 5,000 pounds or about the same a V-6 powered pickup. Ground clearance is said to be 12 inches.

Safety features include a 30-inch front crumple zone and low center of gravity as well as lane centering technology and auto-braking.

“We are excited about the appetite we see from fleets for this vehicle. The number of vehicles spoken for to date has exceeded our expectations,” said Steve Burns, Workhorse CEO. “Our existing electric medium duty, delivery truck business has demonstrated that low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is compelling.”

The company will have a display at the 2017 ACT (Advanced Clean Transportation) Expo in Long Beach, Calif., where fleet managers can drive the W-15 Plug-In Pickup.

Workhorse Group will build the W-15 PHEV pickup at its Union City factory in Ohio where it says it has the capacity to produce 60,000 units a year. The W-15 PHEV will start at $52,200 and is said to go on sale for the 2018 model year.

Source:  Workhorse Group Inc.

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