Tesla has more competition in the emerging electric ute market, this time from Ohio-based electric vehicle maker Workhorse.
The company introduced their electric delivery truck (replete with delivery drone) earlier this year – and now they’ve announced they are now considering going full steam ahead with an all-electric pickup (American for ute).
The company already has a plug-in hybrid ute in the pipeline for production next year, but CEO Steve Burns has now also said that with recent steps forward in battery technology, the time is right to look into an all-electric version.
While the all-electric W-15 Pickup would not be suitable for towing, Burns told Fox News, the automaker has already started taking orders from private buyers and says it will make them available as early as next year.
Burns adds that the pickup would offer around 130km of range with 460hp for $US52,000, and will be kitted out with an external 7.2kW power outlet that outputs 30 amps directly from the battery pack.
When Elon Musk previously tweeted to followers about what they’d like to see in an electric pickup, this was high on the list of requests – and now it seems Workhorse has listened.
Ssangyong also recently hinted at introducing a 100% electric ute to the Australian market.
Workhorse have also revealed they are undertaking a brand redesign with the brand message ‘Work Ahead’, and will start work on pilot production for the W-15 Pickup later this year.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.