A couple of years ago we learned of Workhorse, a small Ohio-based company that was working on a building a plug-in hybrid electric truck. Called the W-15, the truck was said to use a weight saving steel ladder frame chassis, as well as the addition of lithium-ion batteries feeding juice to two electric motors, one at each axle. It also featured a gasoline engine for range extending duties only. According to Electrek, Workhorse is now taking orders from the public after receiving over 5,000 fleet orders. The price? An estimated $52,500.
That's actually pretty decent considering familiar full-size trucks such as the Ford F-150 easily climb above the $50k mark. There's also the $7,500 EV tax credit to consider, so the W-15 is very fairly priced. Question is, what do you get?
Workhorse claims the W-15 can get up to 80 miles on all-electric mode thanks to its large 60 kWh battery. If the need arises for the gasoline engine to kick in, there's a combined total range of 310 miles. It also manages 28/32 mpg city/highway when running solely on gasoline. Most importantly, however, it's a true pickup truck. Not only can it do 0-60 mph in 5.5 seconds, it has a towing capability of 5,500 lbs, which is similar to the Tesla Model X's capacity. The W-15 can also handle a payload of up to 2,200 lbs. Workhorse already has a partnership with Ryder in place to sell and service the W-15 at more than 800 locations in the US, Canada, and Mexico.
