Workhorse Group Unveils First Extended-Range Electric Pickup Truck

At the recent Advanced Clean Transportation Exhibition (ACT Expo) in Long Beach, California, Workhorse Group unveiled the first drivable prototype of its W-15 electric pickup truck which would be the World’s first extended-range electric pickup truck offered to the public. The Workhorse Group have already secured more than 4,650 letters of intent pre-orders for the W-15 pickup which includes direct all-wheel drive and two electric traction motors that generate 460 horsepower. The powertrain utilizes 6,000 Panasonic batteries and includes a small three-cylinder engine under the hood to charge the batteries when they are low on power, similar to how the Chevrolet Volt or BMW i3 operate. The all-electric range is expected to be around 129 KM (80 miles) but can be pushed farther when using the range extender engine. The truck will reportedly have a towing capacity of around 5,000 lbs. and a payload capacity of 2,200 lbs. and is only slightly bigger than the current Honda Ridgeline. W-15 production vehicles are expected to show up in late 2018, which puts them just ahead of Tesla’s reported timeline of 1.5 to 2 years.