Electric motors are great for vehicles that haul loads in stop-and-go conditions and at low speeds; that means they could be ideally suited to powering trucks, in certain conditions. While it?s a bit surprising that there hasn?t been a true electric pickup yet, Tesla Motors has one in its longer-range product plan. But now Workhorse, a fleet-vehicle specialist, looks poised to beat Tesla to market with a truck called the W-15.
While the majority of light-duty pickups today are sold for personal use, a significant portion are essentially tools of the trade?carrying supplies for construction or utility projects, for instance, or getting workers and their tools from one job site to the next.
It?s here where the Workhorse W-15 could prove perfect for the task. The truck, which is under development and targeted to go into production in 2018, isn?t a pure battery-electric vehicle, it’s a range-extended plug-in. “We believe this will be the first plug-in range-extended electric pickup truck built from the ground up by an OEM in America. It’s not a conversion vehicle,” said Steve Burns, Workhorse CEO, in a release.Workhorse argues that with an 80-mile range it will cover the vast majority of needs for locally driven trucks. It says that what underpins the W-15 will be an extension of the E-Gen powertrain, as used in the company?s electric commercial delivery trucks?which would mean a small fuel tank and an emphasis on gasoline power truly as a backup. Those ...