Workhorse W-15 electric pickup truck comes to CES 2018

The pickup truck is the best-selling vehicle platform in America, but no EV options have existed, until now. At CES, the Workhorse Group showed off an almost-production version of the W-15, its electric pickup truck.

The W-15 can drive the first 80 miles just on electricity, but there is a gasoline generator to continuously charge the battery for an additional 310 miles of range. The W-15 should scoot to 60 miles per hour in 5.5 seconds, thanks to the 480 horsepower.

For now, it's based off a Chevrolet Silverado, but the chassis is straight from Workhorse, featuring an independent rear suspension and all-wheel drive. There are a few driver's aids like emergency braking and lane departure warning, but blind-spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control are not in the queue for the moment.

There is a 7.2-kilowatt power exporter that can power tools without the truck running. Payload is decent at 2,200 pounds and the W-15 can tow 5,000 pounds, the same as the Honda Ridgeline.

Workhorse CEO Steve Burns says the W-15 is "designed to do anything a Ford F-150 can do." That's quite a bold statement considering most F-150 models can tow more, many have more payload capacity and the F-150 is available with adaptive cruise control and a swanky trailer backup assist technology.

Workhorse will deliver a fleet order of 5,300 units at the end of 2018, with consumer orders coming in the first half of 2019. The W-15 will start at $52,500 but there's a $7,500 tax credit as well as local incentives.