Workhorse CEO: $300 million in preorders for plug-in hybrid pickup trucks

Workhorse W-15 extended-range electric pickup truck

Over seven years of plug-in electric cars and 20 years of hybrids, the pickup truck sector remains largely untouched. GM sold hybrid Chevrolet and GMC pickups for a few years, and Ford plans an F-150 hybrid in 2020. A startup company now called Workhorse (nee AMP) noticed that white space and made a bold play for the market with its W-15 plug-in hybrid pickup truck.

With an estimated 80-mile range on electric power and 32 mpg highway and 28 mpg city with the gasoline engine, Workhorse leads in crowding segment. Though the truck isn't on sale yet, CEO Steve Burns says the company has received $300 million in pre-orders for its plug-in hybrid truck. At an estimated price of $52,500, that's a lot of trucks, but Burns stressed that getting orders up front is a calculated strategy in an interview with Autoblog.

Workhorse W-15 plug-in truck

Although the company had the desire to build a plug-in pickup truck, Burns admits Workhorse didn't have the resources to do it. "We couldn't build it and hope [customers] came," after the announcement. "We wanted to make sure there was an audience of customers." Potentially to his surprise, the audience poured in; Workhorse received 4,560 letter-of-intent preorders at its reveal in May.

Workhorse developed the W-15 with compromise in mind since an all-electric truck may "disappoint" customers in capability, per Burns. The CEO says an all-electric truck's estimated range diminishes as payload and towing ratings increase—it also allows Workhorse to keep costs down with a smaller battery pack with a plug-in hybrid powertrain.

And the W-15's specifications aren't poor, either. Dual electric motors provide 460 horsepower, its payload rating sits at 2,200 pounds and it will tow up to 5,000 pounds.

Workhorse W-15 plug-in truck

The battery also serves as a mobile power supply with a standard outlet present to power electric tools. Workhorse wants to deliver its first trucks by late 2018, but it won't necessarily be alone in the market. Canadian company Havelaar plans to build its all-electric Bison; Tesla has said it plans an electric pickup truck in two years; and Bollinger wants to build a a pickup version of its B-1 electric Class 3 utility truck.

None of those companies is a traditional maker, but there's also the chance that one or more large global carmakers could change course and debut its own mass-market electrified pickup. The demand for the Workhorse plug-in hybrid pickup truck speaks volumes, however. After the company satisfies its initial fleet orders, Burns said it will likely turn toward individual customers, whose pre-orders he said could be filled sometime late in 2019.

Workhorse Group Plans a PHEV Pickup Truck With 80-Mile Electric Range

Cincinnati-based Workhorse Group has unveiled concept renderings of its W-15 plug-in hybrid electric pickup truck with a goal to deliver trucks in 2018.

Duke Energy, the city of Orlando and the city of Portland have signed nonbinding letters of interest to purchase the trucks for their respective uses.

Duke Energy has said it could purchase as many as 500 trucks by 2019.

“We believe this will be the first plug-in range-extended electric pickup truck built from the ground up by an original equipment manufacturer in America. It’s not a conversion vehicle,” Workhorse CEO Steve Burns said.

Targeted at less than $50,000 before incentives, the five-passenger crew cab style pickup will have a floor-integrated Panasonic lithium-ion battery pack that will provide an estimated 80-mile electric driving range and regenerative braking capabilities.

When the battery pack is depleted, a small two-cylinder gasoline engine — the same that comes on BMW i3 passenger cars — acts as a generator to add a hybrid driving range of an estimated 310 miles.

The pickup will feature lightweight composite body panels and be underpinned by a high-strength stainless steel frame.

Two electric motors, one on each axle, give the W-15 four-wheel drive capability.

Workhorse said the pickup tips the scales at 7,200 pounds and can haul up to 2,200-pounds worth of cargo.

In electric drive, fuel economy is estimated at a 75 MPGe rating, while in hybrid mode, the W-15 pickup returns 28-mpg highway and 32-mpg city.

Workhorse just received a $10 million order for 200 hybrid-electric delivery trucks from United Parcel Service (UPS), which follows a May UPS order for 125 hybrid-electric vehicles.

Since then, Workhorse has added FedEx and Alpha Baking to its customer list.

Workhorse plans to have a full working prototype W-15 pickup at the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo in May 2017 in Long Beach, Calif., a trade show organized by Fleets & Fuels.

VIA Motors Begins Production Of Plug-In Hybrid Pickup

Bob Lutz isn’t the kind of man to sit around without anything to keep him busy, and his latest venture is VIA Motors, which converts GM pickups into versatile plug-in hybrids. Last week Lutz announced that VIA Motors had begun production of its plug-in hybrid pickups, and delivery of the first 40 was already underway.

In addition to those 40 pickups, VIA is also delivering the first 200 VTRUX plug-in hybrid vans, as well as beginning production in their state-of-the-art manufacturing center in Mexico. With a 2,000 pound payload capacity and the ability to deliver up to 240-volts of juice as an on-site power generator, the first VTRUX are being sold to fleet customers like General Electric, and Verizon Wireless to test their usefulness in the field. According to Lutz, plug-in hybrid pickups should have come before cars anyways.

Relegated only to fleet customers at the moment, the $79,000 starting price is still about twice the cost of the average new truck these days, but VIA claims its plug-in vehicles can get up to 100 MPG in daily driving with a 40-mile electric driving range . The fuel savings start adding up after just 12,000 miles of driving, and VIA’s production facility can convert up to 10,000 GM trucks and vans per year into plug-in hybrid.

Still interested despite the high cost? After fulfilling its initial batch of orders, Lutz says VIA plans to open sales to individuals wanting a vehicle Detroit has thus far refused to build. With a highest cost than the Tesla Model S though, will buyers pony-up for a plug-in pickup?