Workhorse releases specs for coming W-15 extended range electric pickup
14 April 2017
Workhorse has released initial specifications of its W-15 pickup truck, for which it has accumulated letters of intent for 2,150 units. (Earlier post.) A drivable prototype of the W-15 will be unveiled at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in Long Beach, California, on May 2. Production models are scheduled for delivery in 2018.
Designed specifically to meet the needs of commercial fleets, the W-15 is believed to be the first plug-in, range-extended pickup truck built from the ground up by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM).
Preliminary specifications announced today include:
- 75 MPGe fuel efficiency in all-electric operation
- 80-mile all-electric range
- gasoline-powered range extender
- 460 system horsepower (343 kW)
- 0-60 miles per hour in 5.5 seconds
- True all-wheel drive (AWD)
- Automatic braking
- Lane-departure warning
- Composite body with carbon fiber
- Double cab
- Standard bed configuration
- 7.2 kW power export that allows tools to be plugged directly into the battery power source without the truck running
Tesla chief Elon Musk has tweeted that a Tesla pickup truck will be unveiled in 18-24 months.
Payload and towing capacity, please? Any article about a pickup truck without that info is useless. Payload and towing capacity is the reason you buy a pickup. Period.
Posted by: ai_vin | 16 April 2017 at 09:01 AM
ai vin
From http://workhorse.com/pickup/ the load carrying capacity is 2200 lb and the towing is 5000 lb with a crew of 5. This is roughly equivalent to a 1/2 pickup ton with a crew cab but not equivalent to a 3/4 or 1 ton diesel pickup with a full size bed. However, if you do need to tow a backhoe tractor to the work site or carry a full load of 4x8 sheets of plywood, the Workhorse pickup may be cheaper to own.
Posted by: sd | 17 April 2017 at 07:57 AM
5000lbs is fairly low, now a days.
1/2 tons have been getting up there for towing.
If this were a short route delivery truck, with a ample time for charging between routes and never really used the on board range extender it would be great.
The biggest benefit of ownership would come from on board power plant for tools and such.
Posted by: CheeseEater88 | 17 April 2017 at 09:05 PM
Darn, sd that website says they supply "fleets" - not private owners like me. This is the same problem I have with VIA motors' electrified pickup. Also 5000 lb isn't enough for my needs, like CE88 says it's fairly low for a 1/2 ton. The Tesla model X pulls that much.
Posted by: ai_vin | 18 April 2017 at 07:03 AM
It's very difficult to compete with the mainstream players in the pickup truck market. Yeah, they don't offer EV yet ... GM tried offering hybrid; very low take rate; they gave up.
"Composite body with carbon fiber" is gonna be expensive.
I see 4 wheel independent suspension with coil springs on their drivable chassis. The rear strut towers will intrude on the cargo area - unless the cargo floor is very high, which is an objection that I have to all of the current pickup trucks on the market. Using IRS has an opportunity for improving this because it no longer needs space for the differential to bounce around underneath there ... but those strut towers throw this away.
Posted by: Brian P | 18 April 2017 at 02:31 PM
Seriously, they need to get rid of the rear struts. Aft air bags and maybe transverse torsion-bar springs look more like the way to go.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 20 April 2017 at 07:39 PM