Workhorse isn't the first company to attempt to put an electric pickup on the road, but it is the first to build one from the ground up rather than convert an existing truck. Phoenix Motorcars has been converting Ford E-Series vans to electric drivetrains for years and attempted, briefly, to do the same to a SsangYong pickup imported from South Korea. Via Motors has been converting Chevrolet Silverados and Express vans into plug-in hybrids for a few years now, but both graft electric motors onto the existing powertrain.
Workhorse has taken the idea a step further and is poised to beat the much-hyped Tesla EV pickup to market by several years. Like Tesla, Workhorse builds its own battery pack with Panasonic 18650 lithium-ion cells and mounts it fully under the vehicle, where it doubles as the truck's frame. Front and rear subframes, each with an electric motor, single-speed reduction gearbox, and a fully independent coil-spring suspension, are mounted to the frame. Up front, a BMW-sourced three-cylinder gasoline engine acts a generator producing 50 kW of electricity to charge the battery or drive the electric motors. (It never powers the wheels mechanically.)
Further down the detailed article:
It's obvious at first glance the W-15 is designed for work. A light bar with yellow hazard lights is integrated into the roof, and a sprayed-in bedliner is standard. A power export module is mounted behind a door on the passenger's side of the bed and puts out 7.2 kW-hrs, enough to easily power a job site. The export pulls power off the battery, and if you manage to drain it, the generator will kick on. Workhorse is working on a 14-kW-hr module that'll allow the truck to power a whole house in the event of a power outage.
The Workhorse company already makes hybrid trucks -- last paragraph from the article:
It's easy to be pessimistic about the W-15's future, given how many automakers have tried and failed to sell a hybrid pickup in the past. Even General Motors couldn't get the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra hybrids to catch on. Workhorse, though, isn't just a startup. It's been in the business for years. Noticed any UPS trucks with the word hybrid on the side in your neighborhood? Workhorse builds those, as well as trucks for FedEx, Penske, Ryder, DHL, and more. The company knows vehicle production, and it knows fleets. Moreover, it's the first company to build a dedicated hybrid truck rather than cram batteries into an existing vehicle never designed for them, and the advantages show in the truck's capabilities.
(Score: 2) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Friday May 05 2017, @02:46PM (3 children)
First time I have seen Killowatt-hours when they really meant watts.
7.5KWh may be a short work-day depending on the equipment in use.
It is actually correct in the fine article:
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @03:42PM (1 child)
The fine article must have been edited to fix the KWh errors. I copied the paragraph directly from the Motor Trend site and didn't catch the error before I submitted. And (obviously) our hard working editors didn't catch it either.
(Score: 1) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Friday May 05 2017, @03:50PM
I figured that happened. I searched for the word "correction" on the page, but did not find it.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Friday May 05 2017, @04:48PM
puts out 7.2 kW
Ah, but for how long? An hour maybe? Well, I suppose with generator running, indefinitely.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @02:57PM (3 children)
Who are these guys? I though Musk invented the electric car.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday May 05 2017, @03:01PM
Musky invents, Workhorse makes it work™
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by drussell on Friday May 05 2017, @04:32PM (1 child)
Musk invented nothing.
There were electric cars being sold 100 years ago.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 06 2017, @02:32AM
See:
https://www.treehugger.com/cars/jay-leno-restomodding-1914-detroit-electric-ev-video.html [treehugger.com]
I'm still waiting for an electric motorcycle that looks good and has a low center of gravity.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @03:01PM (12 children)
The only thing that worries me for a farm truck is what they said about clearance. A foot isn't much when you're on a rough, muddy field.
But other than that? Just about everything I want. They just need to come out with an 8 foot bed.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @04:00PM (2 children)
Just needs a small, mis-tuned diesel engine to dump black smoke on cyclists and electric cars.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @05:42PM (1 child)
Not a lot of cyclists nor electric cars on the farm.
And if there are, black diesel smoke would be way more benign than what I'd dump on them if they didn't move real slow and lie down until the deputies got there to ziptie and haul them off.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @06:40PM
So how do you find the time to work on a farm AND work for United?
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Friday May 05 2017, @04:37PM (3 children)
This truck isn't for farms or for consumers, it's specifically designed for fleets. It says so right in the article. It's meant for utility companies and others like that who need a light pickup truck for driving around town. That's why it has 4-wheel independent suspension. They aren't even selling it to consumers, just corporate customers, though they said they might offer it to consumers if there's enough demand.
Hopefully it'll be really successful and then they can make other versions for other uses. But this seems like a perfectly sensible way to get started in the market.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday May 05 2017, @05:36PM (1 child)
Except fleets are usually built around Vans, because you can lock up the stuff you have to carry or work.
Small construction contractors are the only guys that regularly use pickups. And also those are one of the few jobs where you can live within the range limitations because you usually go to the jobsite and stay there all day.
As such, the W-15 has an electric-only range of 80 miles. Once the battery is drained, the gasoline engine kicks on and gives the truck another 310 miles of gas-powered range from its 11-gallon tank.
Those companies that do have larger fleets of trucks, (think Comcast, phone, in-home service, Orkin, etc, want a closed cargo area. They want vans.
The largest fleets composed of pickups (in my area) seems to be local government, and yard care companies, but these guys run around all day, Not sure the range would satisfy.
So this company seems like they "talk" fleet, but it appears they are really counting on consumer market, who use their pickup to run a few errands, but mostly just drive around with an empty back end because driving a pickup is a Guy thing.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by aclarke on Friday May 05 2017, @08:40PM
Given that they've built their entire company around fleet sales, I'd imagine they've done a lot of market research before bringing this vehicle out. They already have a solid name in the market, and a lot of fleet sales connections. FTA: "Workhorse has more than 5,000 preorders, mostly from electrical utilities looking to replace their gas-powered pickups for in-town duty."
It sounds to me like they've identified a market opportunity. Remember, they already provide step vans for those who want a closed cargo van.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @05:45PM
Large farms buy fleets.
Small farms buy old fleet vehicles at auction.
Farmers really don't need five hundred pounds of wizzy tech to extend their genitalia.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bob_super on Friday May 05 2017, @05:18PM (4 children)
I constantly see jacked-up pickups with extra-long suspension, giant wheels ... and less than a foot of actual clearance because of the differential in the middle of the rear axle.
Always cracks me up.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday May 05 2017, @05:46PM (1 child)
Those guys also often have air lift systems.
True the axle is going to sit at half the wheel diameter, but you quickly learn to put the wheels on the object in the path, and not straddle large rocks , (you straddle the ruts). I think you will find a foot of actual clearance gets you most places you would actually want to take a pickup even for sport.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday May 05 2017, @05:53PM
I know that, but it's still a major constraint. Many diffs take another 6 inches down from wheel center.
When people are ready to drop well over 20k on various mods, why isn't anyone selling a compelling solution to replace the fixed axle? 4WD/AWD with independent suspension isn't exactly a novel concept...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @05:47PM
It isn't completely insane. You have to watch where your wheels go, but you're less likely to hang up on your undercarriage.
As the old saying goes: horses for courses.
Your low-slung 2WD truck is basically a city driver, or gravel roads at most.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Friday May 05 2017, @06:06PM
They do look rather ridiculous, don't they?
But in reality, clearance isn't just about the height of the obstacle you can pass the axle over on a level surface - you can very often drive at least one wheels over such an obstacle to get past it. The tricky part is not getting high-centered afterward, once the obstacle is completely underneath you.
For the simplest example, consider driving over something like a ridiculously huge speed bump. The wheels all pass over the bump, so it doesn't really matter if the axle is only inches above the ground. But once the front wheels have completely cleared it you're likely to grind to a halt as because your undercarriage hits it, unable even to back up because your weight is now carried mostly by the undercarriage rather than your wheels, so you have no traction.
You run into that sort of scenario a lot when driving across creeks or rocky terrain.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday May 05 2017, @03:28PM (14 children)
So, they've been selling to commercial fleets for years. And, the truck is aimed at commercial fleets. Good start - consumers are fickle, but business managers are somewhat less so.
Built around the batteries, with carbon-fiber frame. That's another good start. Batteries are heavy, and trying to mount them on an already existing frame will make the vehicle topheavy.
The gas engine arrangement sounds pretty good too. Why throw a heavy transmission and driveshaft into a "hybrid"? Complete waste of weight and resources if you can generate electric power directly to the motor - or in this case, motors.
I like the range. The total range, that is. Only 80 miles on the initial electric charge, but the gas tank gives you another 300+. That is quite acceptable.
It might be impractical for some fleet uses, but other fleets might mount solar panels to help keep the batteries charged. A private owner might do the same. Those cool truck bed covers that keep the rain off of your stuff would work perfectly to mount solar panels. Or, just get one of those camper tops to mount them. Depending on where you live, how far you commute, and how you drive, you might never fall back on the engine.
Looks good - we'll see how it works out.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @03:57PM (13 children)
> ... how far you commute ...
No, no, no. You have been brainwashed, along with ~half the people in the country. Cars are for commuting. Fleet trucks go back to the fleet garage and maintenance depot.
The idea that a pickup truck is OK to use for a personal vehicle is very much a N. American thing. This amazing conceit and personal waste/over-consumption was caused (at least in part) by uneven regulations long ago that gave light trucks a pass on safety and emissions requirements--and thus be cheaper. Somehow it became cool to be bounced around in a pickup (I'm guessing that marketing did this image wrangling) and now these monsters are everywhere in USA. As well as all the waste of fuel, the other side effect is that many trucks have now been compromised to give a better ride, probably to some detriment in their capability as true work vehicles.
Very noticeably absent in most of the rest of the world.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @04:03PM
Americans also got extremely fat == need truck.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Friday May 05 2017, @04:09PM
The damned truck gets better fuel mileage than half the cars and all the trucks on the road. Stop your whining. Besides - I have uses for a truck. As things are, when I need to move a little bit of something, I threaten one of the sons until they let me use one of their trucks.
The idea that you have some moral high ground from which to judge me is itself an amazing conceit. I AM an American, after all. I do as I damned well please, and even more so when I am paying my own way.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by damnbunni on Friday May 05 2017, @04:34PM (4 children)
This thing gets the same highway milage, and better in-town milage, than my two-door 2007 hatchback.
It is, however, 3.5x the price, so there's that.
Alas, none of my immediate family or friends have a truck I can borrow. I had to actually pay a junk-man to haul off some junk this week. The horror!
(Score: 2) by shipofgold on Friday May 05 2017, @05:00PM (3 children)
I post most of my junk on Craigslist under "free stuff".
Within a half hour there are plenty of responses asking when they can come and get it.
Old cast iron bathtub
Broken dishwasher also disappeared within a half hour
Unwanted glass shower doors.
An old bunk bed
Old 32" non-flatscreen TV that still worked (I admit I didn't expect that one to go, but it did)
Non working pressure washer
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @05:50PM
> Old 32" non-flatscreen TV that still worked (I admit I didn't expect that one to go, but it did)
When I got rid of ours (a 25" Trinitron) the young guy that came to get it said he would use it with old video games. Didn't have the lag of cheap flat screen TVs that he had tried. Note, this was ~5 years ago.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday May 05 2017, @05:55PM (1 child)
Nobody, apparently even you, fixes anything these days.
But people who do fix things understand free is a good price, even for the parts carcass, and even if they ultimately have to haul it to the recycle/dump.
Of course, they are probably driving a pickup truck from the 60s.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Saturday May 06 2017, @01:39PM
To be fair, the energy requirements of a large tube TV probably outweigh any benefits from repairing it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @05:51PM (4 children)
Depends on what you do on your commute.
I go to the feed mill, and pick up feed by the pallet.
How many trips would that take you in your Prius, mister efficiency?
I wonder whether you can get a trail rated Prius ... oh, wait, that's what these trucks are, kind of.
(Score: 1) by sweettea on Friday May 05 2017, @06:00PM (2 children)
My Prius holds 800 lbs (officially).
My truck holds 1300lbs. Still not a pallet of feed.
Were my time slightly less expensive, I'd use the Prius; 1.5 trips with it is still better than my pretty-efficient truck.
(Score: 1) by redneckmother on Friday May 05 2017, @06:27PM
Ya shoulda bought a bigger truck. My 1-ton can do it.
:)
Mas cerveza por favor.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Saturday May 06 2017, @01:58PM
I bought a Thule Easyline trailer many years ago. It is rated for 1600+ pounds minus about 200 pounds of trailer weight. I've towed it, loaded, with a car as small as a 2 liter VW Jetta. I love that trailer more than anything I've ever purchased. It's like this one, but a longer model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oypjtgoH4mY [youtube.com]
Thule quit making them, but a company called RedTrailers bought the rights and continues (continued?) to sell them. I wonder if they went out of business recently though -- their website is dead. http://web.archive.org/web/20161011040213/http://www.redtrailers.com:80/Trailers.asp?type=easyline [archive.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @06:27PM
Right. You are in the other ~half of the population that have not been brainwashed. People in this group mostly drive cars, but some of them need pickup trucks as work vehicles, picking up feed, etc.
Thus the comment about trucks in general being compromised these days, as they are fancied-up for use as tall cars.
(Score: 3, Informative) by nethead on Friday May 05 2017, @08:10PM
What is really sad is you can't get a decent small pickup these days. I got lucky and found a 2007 Ranger fleet truck (no extras, no extended cab, am/fm radio.) for $3k. I use it about once a week to haul stuff for the house. It should last me the rest of my life. I got 430k miles out of my last Ranger.
How did my SN UID end up over 3 times my /. UID?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @04:36PM (2 children)
I saw Redbull trucks marked as electric vehicles. Who make those?
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Friday May 05 2017, @05:04PM
Every time a Redbull truck gets in an accident, an angel gets his wings...
...and a bunch of neighbourhood kids get heart attacks.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Friday May 05 2017, @05:28PM
I saw Redbull trucks marked as electric vehicles. Who make those?
Apparently they're diesel electric hybrids. Manufactured by Navistar International.
A couple [truckinginfo.com] blurbs... [fleetowner.com]
(Score: 2) by aclarke on Friday May 05 2017, @08:38PM (1 child)
I'd ideally like to have a crew cab hybrid pickup truck that runs the front wheels directly off the engine, and the rear wheels with an electric motor. Put a decent sized battery in there to run 110/220V tools like this one. Truck is FWD most of the time but AWD/RWD as well, depending on configuration. The only real downside of this is the regenerative braking is on the rear axle, meaning you will recapture less energy under hard braking.
A system like this would also allow the engine/chassis to tow more than the 5000lbs the Workhorse can handle. I understand they're building to fleet spec, but as a guy with a farm, I want my truck to tow at least 50% more than that.
A hybrid pickup truck actually makes a lot of sense for a lot of people. The GM trucks let you run power tools off the battery, but they never caught on. I've been idly toying with the idea of buying one used.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 06 2017, @05:04AM
This one would have been so close to perfect, if they'd given it regular cab with a bit of space for dry storage behind the seats rather than a full quad cab, an 8' bed, and another 50% tow/haul.
For real awesome sauce, adjustable ground clearance and a flatbed with demountable (or folding) side panels. Perfect for collecting hay in the fields, getting a couple of horses from place to place, hitting the auction lot with a few dozen chickens and getting a pallet of NPK on the way home.
A chassis cab option, at a minimum, would be fantastic.