Workhorse Group

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Workhorse Group
FormerlyWorkhorse Custom Chassis, AMP Electric Vehicles
TypePublic
Traded as
Nasdaq: WKHS
IndustryTransportation, Automotive, Aerospace
Founded1998 (1998), Union City, Indiana
FounderStephen Burns
HeadquartersCincinnati, Ohio,
United States
Number of locations
3
Area served
North America
Key people
Richard Dauch (CEO)
Number of employees
150
Websiteworkhorse.com Edit this at Wikidata

Workhorse Group Incorporated, originally AMP Electric Vehicles, is an original equipment manufacturer and technology company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America. Workhorse makes electric delivery vans, drones, and telematics software designed for last-mile delivery. Their products include commercial electric vehicles, Horsefly delivery drones, and a Metron telematics software system.

History[]

Workhorse Custom Chassis, LLC 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.[2] Navistar then shuttered the plant in 2012 to cut costs after having suffered heavy losses.[1]

In March 2013, AMP Electric Vehicles took over Workhorse Custom Chassis, LLC's assets and began offering a range of electric vehicles.[3][4][5] In 2015, AMP changed its company name to Workhorse Group Incorporated.[6] On January 4, 2016, the Company was approved by Nasdaq Capital Market and its common stock started being quoted on Nasdaq under the symbol “WKHS” (NASDAQ: WKHS).[7]

In February 2019, Steve Burns, co-founder of AMP Electric Vehicles and CEO of Workhorse decided to resign from the company. President and COO Duane Hughes became the new CEO of Workhorse.[8][9]

In November 2021 it was reported that Workhorse faced a Department of Justice investigation as well as a SEC investigation that was first reported in a September 2021 report by shortselling research firm Fuzzy Panda who accused the company of fraud which was followed up by a Cincinnati Enquirer report which found that top Workhorse executives and board members sold off $60 million worth of stock and that part of the selling occurred following interactions with postal officials which signaled their USPS bid was in trouble. The report also stated that Workhorse was being sued by some shareholders in the company, which accuses them orchestrating its USPS as part of an insider trading scheme.[10][11][12] On November 9, 2021, Workhorse confirmed it's SEC and Department of Justice investigations in a regulatory filling which stated that the investigations were related to the trade of securities in the company leading up to the award of the USPS contract to Oshkosh.[13]

Lordstown Plant[]

Main article: Lordstown Assembly

On May 8, 2019, General Motors confirmed that it was in talks to potentially sell Lordstown Assembly, its idle 6.2 million square foot manufacturing plant in Lordstown, Ohio to Workhorse Group.[14][15] On November 7, 2019, the newly constituted Lordstown Motors, of which Workhorse Group has a 10% stake, purchased the shuttered Lordstown Assembly Plant from General Motors. Workhorse CEO, Steve Burns, assumed the role of co-founder and CEO of Lordstown Motors.[16] Later that day, Workhorse Group issued a press release detailing a licensing agreement with Lordstown Motors for their W-15 pickup truck.[17][18][19] Burns resigned as CEO of Lordstown Motors on June 14, 2021.[20]

Workhorse P42 purposed as a food truck

Products[]

A 2002 Workhorse P32 with ElDorado Escort bus bodywork

Discontinued vehicles[]

Workhorse Custom Chassis, LLC[]

A Workhorse LF72 bus chassis with Startrans President LF (low-floor) bodywork

In 2002, Workhorse Custom Chassis, LLC's first product was the P-series, based on the Chevrolet/GMC P30-series stepvan/mobile home chassis.[21]

Workhorse briefly offered an integrated chassis/body model called the MetroStar, hearkening back to the long-lived International Harvester Metro Van line. This product was led by then parent company Navistar.[22]

Workhorse was also involved with the construction of Navistar's eStar electric van, until that product was cancelled in early 2013.[2]

Until 2015, the company offered the familiar W62 chassis and a newer, narrow-tracked version called the W88. Workhorse had originally manufactured an earlier version, the W42 chassis.

W-15 pickup truck[]

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.[23] It is scheduled to have 460 horsepower and a battery range of 80 miles. A gasoline range extender supplies further range.[24][25] In March 2020, Workhorse confirmed that it had transferred the W-15 pickup truck project to Lordstown Motors through a licensing agreement. Lordstown Motors paid a licensing fee to Workhorse, and the truck will be produced in the future without the gasoline range extender.[26]

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.[27] In December 2019, aerospace company Moog Inc. bought the SureFly program for $5 million. Moog plans on using the SureFly as a demonstrator for autonomous delivery vehicles.[28]

Delivery van[]

In 2018, UPS announced that it would partner with Workhorse to develop and manufacture a fleet of 50 plug-in electric trucks. The trucks were expected to have a 100-mile range on electric power.[29] In June 2019, Workhorse obtained US$25 million for the continued development of the N-GEN delivery van. 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.[30][31][32]

Workhorse was one of the finalists for the United States Postal Service 10-year contract for the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV) to replace 165,000[33] of the aging and outdated Grumman LLV used by USPS since 1987.[34] In February 2021, the contract was awarded to Oshkosh Defense.[35][36] Workhorse announced what Bloomberg News described as a "long-shot bid" to overturn the loss of the award.[37] On June 16, 2021, Workhorse filed a formal complaint with the United States Court of Federal Claims protesting the award of the United States Postal Service Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (“USPS NGDV”) contract to Oshkosh Defense. However this complaint was dropped in September 2021.[38][39][40][12]

Horsefly drone[]

Workhorse began the development of a truck-mounted drone called HorseFly in 2016. The HorseFly drone has been developed in collaboration with defense contractor Moog (NYSE:MOG.A).[41] In addition, Workhorse is developing the unmanned medical delivery capabilities of the HorseFly in partnership with San Diego-based Unmanned Systems Operations Group Inc.[42]

C-1000[]

Workhorse developed a flagship electric van model C-1000 and started shipping it in the summer of 2021. However, after the initial sales, the company announced the truck would be redesigned to increase payload capacity. In September 2021 Workhorse suspended all deliveries of the vehicle and recalled 41 vans that were already delivered to customers with the company stating that it needed to provide "additional testing and modifications" to comply with US safety standards.[43][44] In November 2021 CEO Rick Dauch admitted during a conference call that he believed the C-1000 was unreliable.[45]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Navistar Closing Down Workhorse to Cut Costs". RV Business. 2012-08-12. Archived from the original on 2013-11-05.
  2. ^ a b Billings, Randy (2013-05-16). "Navistar sells RV Business, drops eStar Van as Part of its Turnaround Plan". News. Trucking Info. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
  3. ^ "ASSET PURCHASE AGREEMENT by and between WORKHORSE CUSTOM CHASSIS, LLC, as Seller and AMP TRUCKS INC., as Buyer Dated as of March 4, 2013" (PDF). sec.gov. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  4. ^ Kiley, David. "GM In Talks To Sell Ohio Plant To EV Truck Venture Workhorse". Forbes. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  5. ^ "AMP Electric Vehicles to Acquire Assets of Workhorse Brand From Navistar Affiliate - News". eepower.com. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  6. ^ "AMP Holding Inc. is Now Workhorse Group Inc". NGT News. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Form 10-K - SEC.gov". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  8. ^ DeBrosse, Jim (20 November 2020). "Steve Burns Wants Lordstown Motors to Build the World's Best Electric Pickup Truck". Cincinnati Magazine. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  9. ^ Bates, Michael. "Steve Burns Steps Down as Workhorse CEO". www.ngtnews.com. NGTNews. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  10. ^ Foldy, Ben (2021-11-05). "WSJ News Exclusive | Electric-Van Maker Workhorse Is Being Investigated by the Justice Department, Documents Show". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  11. ^ O'Kane, Sean (2021-11-05). "EV startup Workhorse faces Department of Justice probe". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  12. ^ a b "The Enquirer". www.cincinnati.com. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  13. ^ Reuters (2021-11-08). "Workhorse discloses DoJ, SEC probe related to USPS contract". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  14. ^ Assis, Claudia. "GM plans to sell Ohio plant to electric truck company Workhorse Group". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  15. ^ O'Kane, Sean (2019-05-08). "GM is trying to sell a closed factory to troubled EV startup Workhorse". The Verge. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  16. ^ Selak, Jr, Ron (June 22, 2019). "Workhorse secures $25 million in financing". Tribune Chronicle. Ogden Newspapers. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  17. ^ "GM sells Ohio-based Lordstown Assembly plant to electric truck start-up". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  18. ^ Inc, Workhorse Group. "Workhorse Group Signs Intellectual Property Licensing Agreement with Lordstown Motors Corp". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  19. ^ "We Drove the Predecessor to LMC Motors' Endurance Electric Pickup". Trucks.com. 21 November 2019. Archived from the original on 26 September 2019.
  20. ^ O'Kane, Sean (2021-06-14). "Lordstown Motors CEO resigns after investigation into preorders". The Verge. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  21. ^ Quasius, Mark. "RV Tech Library - Workhorse Chassis Overview". www.rvtechlibrary.com. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  22. ^ Berg, Tom (12 September 2012). "Navistar Shutting Down Workhorse as Part of Cost-Cutting". Heavy Duty Trucking. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  23. ^ Hsu, Tiffany (2016-11-07). "Workhorse Group to Make Electric Pickup Trucks". Trucks.com. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
  24. ^ "Workhorse unveils pictures, specs of W-15 electric work pickup". Roadshow. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  25. ^ ZumMallen, Ryan (3 May 2017). "First Drive: Workhorse W-15 Electric Pickup Truck Offers Speed and Utility". Trucks.com. Archived from the original on 2019-09-26.
  26. ^ Randall, Chris. "Workhorse puts electric pickup development on hold". www.electrive.com. Electrive. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  27. ^ PRNewswire (December 18, 2018). "Workhorse Group to Exhibit SureFly Electric Octocopter at 2019 Detroit Auto Show". AviationPros. Archived from the original on 2018-12-19. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  28. ^ Dominic Perry (12 February 2020). "Moog builds on benefits of SureFly acquisition". Flightglobal.
  29. ^ Etherington, Darrell. "UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric delivery trucks". www.techcrunch.com. Verizon Media. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  30. ^ Korosec, Kristen. "Workhorse gets $25 million needed to finish electric delivery van". www,techcrunch.com. Verizon Media. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  31. ^ Bates, Michael. "EnerDel to Supply Batteries for Workhorse C-Series". www.ngtnews.com. NGTNews. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  32. ^ Adler, Alan. "GM sells shuttered Lordstown plant to Workhorse founder (update)". www.freightwaves.com. Freightwaves. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  33. ^ Reuters Staff (2021-03-12). "Lawmaker demands U.S. Postal Service turn over vehicle contract". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-03-13 – via www.reuters.com.
  34. ^ Adler, Alan. "Workhorse scrutinized as Postal Service again delays contract". www.freighwaves.com. Freighwaves. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  35. ^ Assis, Claudia. "Workhorse stock plunges after news Oshkosh wins USPS contract". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  36. ^ "Oshkosh Defense to build U.S. Postal vehicles; Workhorse shares slide". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  37. ^ "Workhorse Pursues Long-Shot Bid to Overturn Postal Truck Award". Bloomberg.com. 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  38. ^ Bogage, Jacob. "Electric automaker Workhorse sues Postal Service to halt truck contract". Washington Post. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  39. ^ "Workhorse Files Formal Complaint Regarding USPS NGDV Contract". Workhorse Group, Inc. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  40. ^ O'Kane, Sean (2021-06-16). "Workhorse starts federal court fight over lost USPS contract". The Verge. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  41. ^ Adler, Alan. "Workhorse perfecting HorseFly truck-based drone delivery". www.freightwaves.com. Freightwaves. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  42. ^ Caproni, Erin. "Cincinnati firm partners on drone delivery tests". www.bizjournals.com. Cincinnati Business Courier. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  43. ^ O'Kane, Sean (9 August 2021). "Workhorse is already redesigning its new electric van". The Verge. The Verge. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  44. ^ Hawkins, Andrew J. (22 September 2021). "Workhorse suspends delivery, recalls dozens of its flagship electric vans". The Verge. The Verge. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  45. ^ "Workhorse's new CEO admits the startup's electric van is no workhorse". www.theverge.com. Retrieved 2021-11-10.

External links[]

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