 | |
| Predecessor |
Workhorse Custom Chassis AMP Trucks |
|---|---|
| Founded |
1998 2012 |
| Headquarters | Union City, Indiana, USA |
| Products | truck bodies |
| Website | http://www.workhorse.com/ |
Workhorse Group Incorporated is an American manufacturing company based in Ohio, currently focused on manufacturing electrically powered delivery and utility vehicles. The company was founded in 1998 by investors who took over the production of General Motors' P30/P32 series stepvan and motorhome chassis.[1] By 2005 they were taken over by Navistar International, which had been selling them diesel engines since before.[2] Navistar then shuttered the plant in 2012, to cut costs after having suffered heavy losses.[1] In March 2015 AMP Electric Vehicles took over Workhorse Custom Chassis, changing the company name to Workhorse Group Incorporated, and began offering a range of electrically powered delivery vans.
History
Workhorse Custom Chassis was formed in 1998 when GVW Group took over production and sales of General Motors’ popular P-series Stepvan chassis when GM dropped the product. GVW built a new 200,000 sq. ft factory in Union City for production, and based in based in Union City, Indiana, USA. Workhorse was sold to Navistar in 2005.[3]
In 2005, Navistar purchased the Workhorse company, a manufacturer of step-van and motor home chassis, to seemingly re-enter the delivery van market.[4] It appeared that the new subsidiary might also benefit by its association with a company whose history from the 1930s into the '60s included the popular Metro van. For a short time Workhorse offered an integrated chassis-body product called MetroStar. In Sept. of 2012, Navistar announced the shut down of Workhorse and the closure of the plant in Union City, Indiana, USA in order to cut costs.[4]
AMP Electric Vehicles had been working with Workhorse and Navistar to develop an electric version of the Workhorse panel trucks. With Navistar's announcement to close down the Union City plant and divest of it, AMP stepped in and was able to purchase the factory and brand in 2012.[5][6] AMP has previously repowered sports cars (Pontiac Sky) and other vehicles as electric vehicles.
Products
A 2002 Workhorse P32 with ElDorado Escort bus bodywork
A Workhorse LF72 bus chassis with Startrans President LF (low-floor) bodywork
As of 2016, the company offers the familiar W62 chassis and a newer, narrow-tracked version called the W88. Their first product was the P-series, based on the Chevrolet/GMC P30-series stepvan/mobile home chassis. An earlier version was the W42 chassis, and they were also managerially involved with the construction of Navistar's eStar electric van, until it too was cancelled in early 2013.[2] This van was in cooperation with AMP Electric Vehicles, which then purchased WorkHorse.
Workhorse briefly offered an integrated chassis/body model called the MetroStar, hearkening back to the long-lived International Harvester Metro Van line. There were also the low-floor bus chassis (LF72), as well as a rear-engined recreational vehicle chassis called the UFO.
Current lineup
- Workhorse C650 electric truck
- Workhorse C1000 electric truck
- Workhorse Horsefly drone
- Workhorse Metron telematics
Pickup truck
Workhorse W-15 pickup
In November 2016, Workhorse announced that they were working on an electrically powered pickup truck, called the W-15. North Carolina's Duke Energy has stated that it will buy 500 of the vehicles, and the city of Orlando is also interested.[7] It is scheduled to have 460 horsepower and a battery range of 80 miles. A gasoline range extender supplies further range.[8] The truck project and intellectual property was transferred or licensed to Lordstown Motors in 2019.[9][10]
Octocopter
In December 2018, Workhorse announced that they were debuting its SureFly, an electric vertical take off and landing octocopter at the 2019 North American International Auto Show. The SureFly would be built for Air medical services, military organizations, agricultural customers, and for urban commuting.[11]
Lordstown Plant
On May 8, 2019, General Motors confirmed that it is in talks to potentially sell Lordstown Assembly, its idle 6.2 million square foot manufacturing plant in Lordstown, Ohio to the Workhorse Group.[12] On November 7, 2019, the newly constituted Lordstown Motors Corporation, of which Workhorse Group has a 10% stake, purchased the shuttered Lordstown Assembly Plant from General Motors. Later that day, Workhorse Group issues a press release detailing the licensing agreement with Lordstown Motors for their W-15 pickup truck.[13][14][15] Lordstown Motor plans to build pre-production prototypes at the plant by April 2020 and start production by November 2020.[16]
Gallery
Workhorse P42 purposed as a food truck
Workhorse C650 and C1000 trucks
Workhorse van
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Navistar Closing Down Workhorse to Cut Costs", RV Business. 2012-08-12, http://www.rvbusiness.com/2012/09/navistar-closing-down-workhorse-to-cut-costs/.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Billings, Randy (2013-05-16). "Navistar sells RV Business, drops eStar Van as Part of its Turnaround Plan". Trucking Info. Retrieved on 2016-12-12.
- ↑ http://www.gvwholdings.com/Companies
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Breaking News", RV Business. 12 September 2012, http://www.rvbusiness.com/2012/09/navistar-closing-down-workhorse-to-cut-costs/. Retrieved on .
- ↑ http://workhorse.com/our-company/history
- ↑ http://evworld.com/focus.cfm?cid=24
- ↑ Hsu, Tiffany (2016-11-07). "Workhorse Group to Make Electric Pickup Trucks". Trucks.com. Retrieved on 2016-12-12.
- ↑ "Workhorse unveils pictures, specs of W-15 electric work pickup". Roadshow. Retrieved on 2017-05-06.
- ↑ https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/workhorse-group-signs-intellectual-property-licensing-agreement-with-lordstown-motors-corp-300954405.html
- ↑ https://businessjournaldaily.com/lordstown-motors-paid-12-2m-to-license-workhorse-tech/
- ↑ PRNewswire (December 18, 2018). "Workhorse Group to Exhibit SureFly Electric Octocopter at 2019 Detroit Auto Show". AviationPros. Retrieved on 2019-08-19.
- ↑ O'Kane, Sean (2019-05-08). "GM is trying to sell a closed factory to troubled EV startup Workhorse".
- ↑ "GM sells Ohio-based Lordstown Assembly plant to electric truck start-up".
- ↑ Inc, Workhorse Group. "Workhorse Group Signs Intellectual Property Licensing Agreement with Lordstown Motors Corp." (in en).
- ↑ "We Drove the Predecessor to LMC Motors' Endurance Electric Pickup" (21 November 2019). Archived from the original on 26 September 2019.
- ↑ "GM sells shuttered Ohio plant to EV truck start-up" (in en), Reuters (7 November 2019). Retrieved on 26 November 2019.
External Links
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