Source: Workhorse W-15 4WD Plug-In Electric Work Truck First Drive Review Ohio’s Workhorse Group thinks it has the perfect light-duty truck for those criteria: the Workhorse W-15 4WD Plug-In Electric Work Truck. 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.) I like their approach but am not in the market. Bob Wilson
if chrysler is successful with the pacifica, they should be able to put that system into any larger vehicle.
I actually love this idea a lot and should they get it down a little bit more on price I may be a buyer someday. Was there any info in the article if it could tow much?
I think FCA would have an issue with battery placement in other vehicles. The Pacifica PHEV loses stow and go seats for the second room. The independent rear could be a turn off for someone that wants a work truck. It could be done right, but I'll never get a Honda for towing after seeing a some Pilots doing so on the highway.
Except the Pacifica's system is transverse FWD, which is not a common layout for American-market pickups at all (the Honda Ridgeline, the S-10 EV, and the Dodge Rampage are the only ones that come to mind (edit: and I forgot the Rabbit Truck)). However, if you did pull off a FWD conversion on a Ram, you'd have lots of space in the frame for a huge battery between the axles. Like, how does 30 or 40 kWh sound?
The W-15 can also tow 5,000 pounds and has a gross vehicle weight rating of 7,200 pounds, making it comparable to a V-6-powered pickup.
Did Bob quote accurately? The battery is the frame?? So much for replacement to extend the vehicle life. It is disposable like a sealed iPhone.
"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." The pack is a major structural component on a Tesla. Same with the Bolt. Why add extra weight for a redundant battery case? Oh, in Tesla's case, there is already a commercial system that can remove the battery, and put in another, in 90 seconds. Then this battery will last longer in this truck than the one in an iPhone.
I was going to make a comment about General Motors having an issue with the use of 'workhorse' as a company name. This was the title given to the bare chassis GM provided for many motor homes over the years. Turns out this company bought that name from GM in 2015. More info in the about section of their site. HW-15 Pickup | Workhorse
Well, not from GM, but rather from Navistar (read: International) - GM effectively spun it out in 1998, and Navistar bought it in 2005.
