Workhorse C-Series Explained

Workhorse C-Series
Manufacturer:Workhorse Group
Production:2021
Assembly:Union City, IN
Class:medium-duty truck
Body Style:panel van
Battery:35–105 kW-hr NMC
Sp:us

The Workhorse C-Series was an American line of battery electric medium-duty delivery vans built by Workhorse Group for commercial package delivery company fleets, which entered limited production in 2021, were recalled that September, and were discontinued in 2022 after fewer than fifty were built. The C-Series was originally named the N-GEN when the line was first announced in 2017. N-GEN prototypes began testing in 2018 and were renamed to the C-Series in 2019.

The C-Series is closely related to the Workhorse W-15 pickup truck; both the W-15 and C-Series are derived from the candidate that Workhorse developed as a joint venture with VT Hackney for the United States Postal Service Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV) contract competition in 2016. The Workhorse/VT Hackney NGDV candidate in turn used a chassis derived from the AMP Electric/Workhorse E-GEN, which was a plug-in hybrid medium-duty truck chassis announced in 2014, shortly after AMP acquired Workhorse from Navistar.

History

E-GEN

AMP Electric acquired Workhorse from Navistar in March 2013 for US$5 million[1] [2] and unveiled the E-GEN drivetrain for the Workhorse W-88 Class 5 truck chassis in early 2014;[3] [4] the E-GEN was a plug-in series hybrid that used a "Sumo" traction motor/generator provided by tm4 Electrodynamic Systems, drawing from a battery with a gross capacity of 60 kW-hr. A small flex-fuel internal combustion range extender engine from Power Solutions International with output could be used when the vehicle was parked to recharge the battery.[5] Estimated battery-only range was ;[4] United Parcel Service demonstrated in 2016 that a smaller range extender could be used with improved consumption and no loss of range.[6]

USPS NGDV and N-GEN

A joint venture between Workhorse (responsible for the chassis and drivetrain, derived from the E-GEN)[7] [8] and VT Hackney (body) was selected in 2016 as one of the finalists competing for the 10-year contract to supply the USPS NGDV,[9] [10] which would provide up to 165,000 vehicles[11] to replace aging and outdated Grumman LLVs and Ford-Utilimaster FFVs that had been used by USPS since 1987.[12] The VT Hackney/Workhorse joint venture delivered their NGDV prototype candidate in September 2017 for testing by the USPS.[13] If awarded the contract, the Workhorse/Hackney NGDV candidate was scheduled tentatively to be built at the former General Motors Lordstown Assembly factory in Lordstown, Ohio.[14] [15]

Shortly after the USPS NGDV candidate was photographed during testing, Workhorse announced it had developed the W-15 pickup truck and N-GEN delivery vehicle for the commercial truck/fleet market; the W-15 and N-GEN are closely related to the NGDV candidate.[16] [17] [18] In a 2020 interview with The Verge, former CEO Steve Burns noted the electric N-GEN and W-15 were derived from the NGDV prototype chassis as a way to recover the investment required to develop the NGDV candidate.[19] Workhorse announced the N-GEN delivery vehicle line in November 2017, stating they would offer it as a battery-electric vehicle with of range using only the battery. An optional gasoline-powered range extender would increase the range by .[20] Testing of the first N-GEN prototypes commenced in late March 2018 with four examples leased by an unnamed company in the San Francisco Bay Area.[21] Initial production of the larger NGEN-1000 was scheduled to commence in October.[22]

At approximately the same time in February 2018, delivery company UPS announced that it would partner with Workhorse to develop and manufacture a fleet of 50 plug-in electric Class 5 trucks for last-mile delivery. The Workhorse/UPS trucks were based on the larger E-GEN with a cab-forward design. Like the NGDV candidate, W-15, and N-GEN, the UPS/Workhorse E-GEN trucks had a target range of on electric power.[23] [24] UPS clarified the cost of the proposed electric trucks was comparable to the cost of a conventional truck.[25] In June of that year, UPS increased its order to 1,000, contingent on favorable acceptance testing results for the first 50, which were scheduled to be delivered that September.[26]

DHL ordered 63 N-GEN vans with a nominal of cargo volume in February 2019, with planned deliveries to take place later that year.[27] In June 2019, Workhorse obtained US$25 million to continue the N-GEN delivery van project.[28] By November 2019, Workhorse changed the name of the delivery van from N-GEN to C-Series. In November 2019, Workhorse chose battery supplier EnerDel to provide up to 5,200 battery packs for C-Series delivery vans.[29] A prototype of the updated C-1000 (stylized with a superscript as C1000) was shown during a private event at the Transportation Research Center in East Liberty, Ohio. The smaller C650 was scheduled to be unveiled at the NTEA 2020 Work Truck Show in March 2020.

In February 2021, the NGDV contract was awarded to Oshkosh Defense.[30] [31] Prior to the award, the per-share price had been driven up by speculators who thought that Workhorse would win the award, which would later lead to an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Workhorse announced what Bloomberg News described as a "long-shot bid" to overturn the loss of the award.[32] On June 16, 2021, Workhorse filed a formal complaint with the United States Court of Federal Claims protesting the award of the NGDV contract to Oshkosh.[33] [34] [35] However this complaint was dropped in September 2021 after Rick Dauch was selected in July to replace outgoing Workhorse CEO Duane Hughes.[36]

Introduction and discontinuation

The first C-Series van, the Workhorse C-1000, was launched in February 2021 during an event held jointly with the Pritchard Companies in Tampa, Florida.[37] Workhorse completed a limited number of C-1000 electric vans and started shipping them in summer 2021. However, after the initial deliveries, the company announced the truck would be redesigned to increase payload capacity.[38]

In September 2021, Workhorse suspended all deliveries of the vehicle and repurchased all of the 41 vans that had been delivered to customers to-date; the company stated it needed to provide "additional testing and modifications" to comply with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) in the United States.[39] Some of the FMVSS that were not met included instrumentation, lighting, tires, and braking, largely attributed to the parts Workhorse had sourced from external suppliers, including tires purchased over the Internet without required markings.[40] In November 2021, Workhorse CEO Rick Dauch admitted during an earnings call that he believed the C-1000 was unreliable.[41]

Workhorse announced in 2022 it will discontinue the C-Series after using up parts on hand[42] to assemble 50–75 more. In March 2022, Workhorse entered an agreement with GreenPower Motor Company to purchase 1,500 EV Star CC vehicles as the basis for Workhorse W750 walk-in vans and W4CC chassis cab,[43] which will be sold in the interim until the company begins production of two new electric commercial vehicle platforms; the W56 is a Class 5/6 truck that will start production in the third quarter of 2023 and the W34 is a Class 3/4 truck scheduled for production in 2024.[42] [44] Both the W56 and W34 are battery electric vehicles; the W56 uses a steel ladder-frame chassis while the W34 will use a low-floor "skateboard" chassis that will form the basis for the next electric Workhorse van.[44]

Design

N-GEN

The N-GEN prototypes tested in March 2018 weighed and could carry up to of cargo for up to of range, drawing from a high-voltage traction battery with 60 kW-hr capacity.[21] It was fitted with the same range extender used in the BMW i3, a 647 cc emergency-use two-cylinder engine built by Kymco for BMW; the range extender added .[16] An optional eight-rotor roof-mounted "HorseFly" drone could carry packages up to .[20] The claimed consumption for the N-GEN was .[16] Like the Lordstown Endurance, the N-GEN series was designed with wheel hub motors on the front wheels. An array of sizes was planned, ranging from of cargo volume.[45] The N-GEN prototypes were later redesignated NGEN-450, referring to their nominal cargo volume of .

The N-GEN project included a planned NGEN-1000 Class 3 truck which had targets of payload and of cargo space with a GVWR of . The NGEN-1000 was designed to have all-wheel drive with a consumption of .[45] Production of the NGEN-1000 was planned to occur in partnership with Prefix Corporation at the Workhorse plant in Union City, Indiana; Workhorse would build the chassis while Prefix would build the composite cab and body.[46]

The N-GEN was equipped initially with a high-voltage lithium-ion traction battery assembled by Workhorse from cylindrical commodity 18650 battery cells supplied by Panasonic.[16]

UPS Class 5 E-GEN

The E-GEN is a range extended electric vehicle, with a all-electric range and an additional from the integrated BMW-supplied gasoline engine.[47] The Class 5 truck prototype for UPS, first shown in May 2018, used the E-GEN chassis and battery pack with a Morgan Olson walk-in body, driven by an electric axle jointly developed by Workhorse and Dana Incorporated. This prototype had a GVWR of and GAWR of .[48]

C-Series

The "C" in the name refers to the vehicle's structural composite body, while the number provides the nominal cargo volume, in cubic feet. The C-1000 was designed with a composite body and frame, reducing unladen weight by .[49] The sandwich-structured composite materials used two layers of fiberglass over lightweight cores that included balsa wood and polypropylene; further weight reduction was accomplished by using aluminum where possible. A smaller C-650 was planned for production.[49] Both vans were Class 3 trucks, with a target GVWR of for each.

Unlike most cargo vans, which are equipped with a rear beam axle, the C-Series is equipped with an independent rear suspension using air shocks.[50] The rear suspension uses a trailing-arm design, while the front uses a short/long-arm design with coil springs. The step-in height for the C-Series is and the overall floor height is, eliminating one step.

The initial prototypes had rear-wheel drive using two motors, providing a top speed of with a tested energy consumption of . Collective output is and of torque, delivered through a 10.5:1 reduction gear to the wheels. Workhorse plan to offer an all-wheel drive variant, driving the front wheels using wheel hub motors.

Equipped with a lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide battery using pouch cells supplied by EnerDel that has a total capacity of 70 kW-hr and a nominal voltage of 420 V, preliminary testing with a C-1000 prototype showed a range.[51] The C-1000 could be equipped with two, four, or six battery modules, providing 35, 70, or 105 kW-hr of storage capacity, respectively; the smaller C-650 could be equipped with two or four of the same modules, with corresponding capacities. Range estimates for both the C-1000 and C-650 were, depending on the battery configuration.[52] The battery management controller can handle a recharge rate of up to 200 kW (DC), although Workhorse anticipate the C-Series will typically be charged overnight using Level 2 AC charging at 7 kW, with 14 or 22 kW (AC) available as options.

Notes and References

  1. AMP Electric Vehicles Inc. Enters Into Agreement to Acquire Assets of Workhorse® Brand From Navistar International Affiliate . https://web.archive.org/web/20130307111024/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/3/prweb10493752.htm . dead . March 7, 2013 . March 4, 2013 . AMP Holding Inc. . 10 November 2022.
  2. News: AMP Electric Vehicles: From car converter to truck OEM . Kent, Michael . October 28, 2013 . Charged EVs . 10 November 2022.
  3. News: AMP Electric Vehicles patents new extended-range powertrain system . Morris, Charles . February 12, 2014 . Charged Electric Vehicles . 10 November 2022.
  4. News: Amp Electric's Workhorse Wants To Be 'Tesla Of Trucks' For Electric Delivery Vans . Voelcker, John . February 23, 2015 . Green Car Reports . 9 November 2022.
  5. Web site: E-GEN Electric Walk In Van . Workhorse Group . September 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151028001043/http://workhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/E-GEN-Spec-Sheet.pdf . October 28, 2015 . dead.
  6. News: UPS updates 125 Workhorse E-GEN series hybrid electric step vans with smaller genset engine for better fuel economy . 3 May 2016 . Green Car Congress . 9 November 2022.
  7. AMP Holding, Inc. Advances in the U.S. Postal Service Next Generation Delivery Vehicle Program as a Prequalified Supplier . April 14, 2015 . AMP Holding, Inc. . 10 November 2022.
  8. VT Hackney Awarded Prototype Contract by USPS for NGDV . September 21, 2016 . VT Hackney . 10 November 2022 . Through its teaming agreement, Workhorse will be responsible for producing the E-Gen chassis. Workhorse is a provider of electric vehicle drivetrain solutions focused primarily on work trucks requiring a higher gross vehicle weight rating..
  9. News: Get ready for a new USPS mail truck, maybe from a company you don't know . Blanco, Sebastian . September 25, 2016 . Autoblog . 9 November 2022.
  10. Interview: Workhorse CEO Steve Burns is a busy man . Steve Burns . John Beltz Snyder . November 2, 2017 . Autoblog . 9 November 2022.
  11. News: 2021-03-13 . Lawmaker demands U.S. Postal Service turn over vehicle contract . Reuters. 2021-03-12. www.reuters.com.
  12. Web site: Adler . Alan . Workhorse scrutinized as Postal Service again delays contract . www.freighwaves.com . Freighwaves . 31 December 2020.
  13. News: Spy shots: The Postal Service's New Electric Mail Truck . Hirsch, Jerry . October 9, 2017 . Trucks . 9 November 2022 . The USPS also is evaluating mail truck prototypes from AM General, Karsan, Mahindra and Oshkosh. All five entrants delivered their prototypes to the Postal Service [in September 2017]..
  14. Web site: Adler . Alan . GM sells shuttered Lordstown plant to Workhorse founder (update) . www.freightwaves.com . Freightwaves . 19 November 2020.
  15. News: General Motors Lordstown plant officially sold to electric truck startup . Szymkowski, Sean . November 7, 2019 . Road/Show . CNet . 9 November 2022.
  16. News: Mail Forwarding: Workhorse Vies for USPS Contract, Readies Vans, Drones, Copters . Halvorson, Bengt . November 10, 2017 . Car and Driver . 10 November 2022 . The N-Gen and Workhorse's W-15 pickup will share quite a lot, including their composite body construction. Burns told Car and Driver that they'll use the same batteries: Panasonic 18650-format cells, a "commodity" format that is roughly AA size and essentially the same as is used in the Tesla Model S and Model X, among other vehicles. But what's different is the range extender. While the production version of the W-15 will use a 1.5-liter three-cylinder BMW range extender, the N-Gen is going to use the 647-cc two-cylinder Kymco-built engine from the BMW i3, Burns said..
  17. News: Here's The Secret New Electric U.S. Postal Service Truck . Torchinsky, Jason . October 11, 2017 . Jalopnik . 9 November 2022 . The Workhorse electric mail truck is based largely on Workhorse's pickup truck, the W-15, there do appear to be some key differences, the most notable of which is the replacement of the W-15's large range-extending gasoline engine with a smaller unit from BMW..
  18. Workhorse W-15 Extended Range Electric Pickup Truck Begins Six-City East Coast Tour . May 24, 2018 . Workhorse Group Inc. . 9 November 2022 . The Workhorse W-15 light duty design is based on the same platform technology used in the Workhorse N-GEN electric delivery van ....
  19. Lordstown Motors wants to avoid the 'carnage' of failed EV startups . Sean O'Kane . Steve Burns . March 11, 2020 . The Verge . 9 November 2020 . No, I mean... the W-15 [electric pickup truck] at Workhorse was born out of... we were making a new vehicle for the [United States] Post Office bid. And we thought, well, if we don’t get the Post Office [contract], I had to be able to justify this risk. What else could we do with this technology? So that's where the pickup truck was born..
  20. News: Workhorse N-Gen electric van features optional delivery drone . Krok, Andrew . November 8, 2017 . Road/Show . CNet . 9 November 2022.
  21. News: Electric N-Gen Vans from Workhorse Group Begin Delivering Goods . O'Dell, John . March 28, 2018 . Trucks . 9 November 2022.
  22. News: New 100-mile electric van matches diesel vans on price, Workhorse says . Geuss, Megan . October 17, 2018 . Ars Technica . 9 November 2022.
  23. Web site: Etherington . Darrell . UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric delivery trucks . www.techcrunch.com . Verizon Media . 19 November 2020.
  24. News: UPS partners with Workhorse to build electric delivery vans . Carey, Nick . Reuters . February 22, 2018 . 9 November 2022 . limited.
  25. News: UPS says 50 Workhorse plug-in hybrid trucks cost no more than regular delivery vans . Voelcker, John . March 13, 2018 . Green Car Reports . 9 November 2022.
  26. News: UPS Places Order for 950 Workhorse Electric Delivery Trucks . Hawes, Clarissa . June 14, 2018 . Trucks . 9 November 2022.
  27. News: DHL To Introduce 63 Workhorse NGEN-1000 In U.S. This Year . Kane, Mark . February 5, 2019 . Inside EVs . 10 November 2022.
  28. Web site: Korosec . Kristen . Workhorse gets $25 million needed to finish electric delivery van . www.techcrunch.com . Verizon Media . 19 November 2020.
  29. Web site: Bates . Michael . EnerDel to Supply Batteries for Workhorse C-Series . www.ngtnews.com . NGTNews . 19 November 2020.
  30. Web site: Assis. Claudia. Workhorse stock plunges after news Oshkosh wins USPS contract. 2021-02-23. MarketWatch. en-US.
  31. Web site: Oshkosh Defense to build U.S. Postal vehicles; Workhorse shares slide. 2021-02-23. finance.yahoo.com. en-US.
  32. News: 2021-03-04. Workhorse Pursues Long-Shot Bid to Overturn Postal Truck Award. en. Bloomberg.com. 2021-03-19.
  33. News: Bogage . Jacob . Electric automaker Workhorse sues Postal Service to halt truck contract . 30 June 2021 . Washington Post.
  34. Web site: Workhorse Files Formal Complaint Regarding USPS NGDV Contract . Workhorse Group, Inc. . 30 June 2021 . en.
  35. News: O'Kane . Sean . Workhorse starts federal court fight over lost USPS contract . 30 June 2021 . The Verge . 2021-06-16 . en.
  36. News: Workhorse Is Apparently Trying To Be The Saddest Of The Car Startups . Shilling, Erik . September 23, 2021 . Jalopnik . 10 November 2022.
  37. Workhorse and Pritchard Companies Launch Purpose-Built National Campaign Event Featuring C-1000 All-Electric Trucks on Super Bowl Weekend . Workhorse Group . February 5, 2021 . 10 November 2022.
  38. Web site: O'Kane. Sean . Workhorse is already redesigning its new electric van . The Verge . The Verge . 9 August 2021 . 6 November 2021.
  39. Web site: Hawkins . Andrew J. . Workhorse suspends delivery, recalls dozens of its flagship electric vans . The Verge . The Verge . 22 September 2021 . 6 November 2021.
  40. News: Starting over: Workhorse overhaul could lead to more than electric vans . Alan . Adler . November 9, 2021 . Freight Waves . 13 December 2023.
  41. Web site: Workhorse's new CEO admits the startup's electric van is no workhorse. 2021-11-10 . O'Kane, Sean . November 9, 2021 . The Verge . en.
  42. News: EV start-up Workhorse swings to a quarterly loss on recalls, outlines new product plan . Rosevear, John . March 1, 2022 . CNBC . 10 November 2022.
  43. News: Workhorse's Future Boosted With GreenPower Delivery Van Deal . Garsten, Ed . March 1, 2022 . Forbes . 10 November 2022 . limited.
  44. Web site: Q4 and Full Year 2021 Earnings Call . March 1, 2022 . Workhorse Group . 10 November 2022.
  45. Web site: We Talk To Workhorse About The N-Gen AWD Electric Delivery Van . Hanley, Steve . October 20, 2018 . Clean Technica . 9 November 2022.
  46. News: Workhorse N-GEN To Be Produced In Partnership With Prefix Corporation . Kane, Mark . April 21, 2019 . Inside EVs . 10 November 2022.
  47. News: Transformational technologies: Electric vehicles from Workhorse Group are filling vocational and last mile delivery needs . Skydel, Seth . December 11, 2017 . Fleet Equipment . 9 November 2022.
  48. News: Dana and Workhorse Reveal Electric Axle for Class 5 Truck . ZumMallen, Ryan . May 1, 2018 . Trucks . 9 November 2022.
  49. News: Workhorse Officially Names Electric Delivery Truck the C1000 . December 12, 2019 . Work Truck . 10 November 2022.
  50. News: Workhorse To Unveil New C650 Electric Step Van . Kane, Mark . February 21, 2020 . Inside EVs . 10 November 2022.
  51. News: Workhorse Selects EnerDel As Battery Supplier: Orders 5,200 Packs . Kane, Mark . November 17, 2019 . Inside EVs . 10 November 2022.
  52. News: Workhorse C-Series Electric Delivery Trucks Approved For Sale . March 7, 2020 . Inside EVs . Kane, Mark . 10 November 2022.