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Workhorse Group

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Workhorse Group
FormerlyAMP Electric Vehicles (2007–2015)
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: WKHS
IndustryTransportation, automotive, aerospace
Founded2007 (2007)
FounderStephen Burns
HeadquartersSharonville, Ohio,
United States
Number of locations
4
Area served
North America
Key people
Richard Dauch (CEO)
Number of employees
331
Websiteworkhorse.com Edit this at Wikidata

Workhorse Group Incorporated, originally AMP Electric Vehicles, is an original equipment manufacturer and technology company headquartered in Sharonville, Ohio, U.S.[1] Workhorse makes commercial electric vehicles and telematics software designed for last-mile delivery. Their products include commercial electric vehicles and the Metron telematics software system.

History

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AMP Electric Vehicles, was founded in 2007 by Steve Burns, former CEO of Lordstown Motors. AMP Electric Vehicles was founded on the idea of converting passenger vehicles – originally designed with an internal combustion engine, gas tank, and related components – to electric drive. The company's goal was to design an electric powertrain around a popular vehicle model, then convince the OEM that was already mass-producing that vehicle to sell it to AMP as a “glider” – a version without a drivetrain. Over the years, however, two problems became apparent. First, the major automakers were hesitant to cooperate. Second, the passenger EV market didn't materialize quite as fast as AMP, and other manufacturers, had hoped it would.[2]

In 2012, The commercial vehicle powerhouse Navistar decided to sell off its Workhorse subsidiary, a step van chassis manufacturer, including the Workhorse factory in Indiana.[3] In March 2013, AMP Electric Vehicles took over Workhorse Custom Chassis, LLC's assets and began offering a range of electric vehicles.[4][5][6]

On April 16, 2015, AMP Electric Vehicles changed its company name to Workhorse Group Incorporated.[7] 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).[8]

In February 2019, Steve Burns, co-founder of AMP Electric Vehicles and CEO of Workhorse resigned from the company. President and COO Duane Hughes became the new CEO of Workhorse.[9][10]

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.[11][12][13] On November 9, 2021, Workhorse confirmed its 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.[14]

In August 2021 Richard Dauch was appointed CEO,[15] with the mission of resolving difficult issues Workhorse was facing and to transition Workhorse from a start-up to a leading manufacturer.[16] By the end of 2022 all the legacy issues had been resolved, such as the securities class action lawsuit,[17] the SEC investigation,[18] and got Workhorse debt free.[19] To prevent the factory being idle while the W56 was being developed, Workhorse entered into a 3-year contract manufacturing agreement with Tropos Technologies[20] and a supply agreement with GreenPower Motor Company where Workhorse will complete the manufacturing process and sell those vehicles as W4 CC's and W750's.[21]

Lordstown Plant & Licensing Agreement

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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.[22][23] On November 7, 2019, the newly constituted Lordstown Motors, of which Workhorse Group had 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.[24] Later that day, Workhorse Group issued a press release detailing a licensing agreement with Lordstown Motors for their W-15 pickup truck.[25][26][27] Burns resigned as CEO of Lordstown Motors on June 14, 2021.[28]

Aero Division

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On June 12, 2024, Workhorse announced the divestiture of the Aero division.[29] Workhorse had developed and patented various drone technologies, focused on autonomous last mile delivery.[30]

Products

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Vehicles

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W4 CC

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A class 4 cab chassis battery electric commercial vehicle.[31]

W750

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A class 4 step van battery electric commercial vehicle, with 750 cubic feet of storage space intended for last mile delivery.[32]

W56

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Main article: Workhorse W56

A class 5 and 6 battery electric commercial vehicle, with 1000 cubic feet of storage space intended for last mile delivery[33] but also available as a strip chassis and cab and chassis.[34] The beam axle is provided by Linamar's eAxle system, stated to have superior performance and efficiency.[35] The W56 was unveiled at the 2023 NTEA Work Truck Show. Production began in September 2023.[36]

Discontinued vehicles

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W-15 (pickup truck)

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Main article: Workhorse W-15

In November 2016, Workhorse announced that they were working on an electrically powered pickup truck, called the W-15. North Carolina's Duke Energy stated that it would buy 500 of the vehicles, and the city of Orlando also reported interested.[37] It was planned to have 460 horsepower and a battery range of 80 miles. A gasoline range extender was to supply further range.[38][39] 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.[40] The W-15 became the basis of the Lordstown Endurance pickup truck.[41]

C-Series (electric delivery van)

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Main article: Workhorse C-Series

Workhorse was one of the finalists for the 10-year United States Postal Service contract for the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV) to replace 165,000[42] aging and outdated Grumman LLVs that had been used by USPS since 1987.[43] In February 2021, the contract was awarded to Oshkosh Defense.[44][45] Workhorse announced what Bloomberg News described as a "long-shot bid" to overturn the loss of the award.[46] 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.[13][47][48][49]

The prototype NGDV candidate chassis was modified and reused for both the W-15 pickup and the N-GEN delivery van for commercial fleets.[50][51] In June 2019, Workhorse obtained US$25 million to continue the delivery van project, which had a temporary name of N-GEN.[52] 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.[53] The C-series was intended to be built at a former General Motors factory in Lordstown, Ohio.[54]

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.[55][56] In November 2021 CEO Rick Dauch admitted during a conference call that he believed the C-1000 was unreliable.[57]

Octocopter

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Main article: Workhorse SureFly

In December 2018, Workhorse announced that they would debut 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.[58] In December 2019, aerospace company Moog Inc. bought the SureFly program for $5 million. Moog planned to use the SureFly as a demonstrator for autonomous delivery vehicles.[59]

HorseFly drone

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Workhorse began the development of a truck-mounted drone called HorseFly in 2016. The HorseFly drone was developed in collaboration with defense contractor Moog (NYSE:MOG.A).[60] Unmanned medical delivery capabilities of the HorseFly was also developed in partnership with San Diego–based Unmanned Systems Operations Group Inc.[61]

Falcon drone

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Workhorse modified their HorseFly design to make a lighter but more rugged drone intended for making deliveries in hazardous environments like a conflict zone, or inaccessible areas like in a natural disaster.[62]

Management

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Current management

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Current employees in management positions are as follows:[63]

  • Richard "Rick" Dauch – CEO
  • Robert “Bob” Ginnan – CFO
  • Josh Anderson – CTO
  • Jeff Mowry – CIO
  • Ryan Gaul – President, Commercial Vehicles
  • Jim Harrington – CAO, General Counsel, Secretary
  • Jim Peters – Vice President, Supply Chain and Procurement
  • Dave Bjerke – Vice President, Product Development
  • Kelly Kiger – Vice President, Sales and Marketing
  • Stan March – Vice President, Corporate Development and Communications
  • Kerry Roraff – CHRO
  • Brad Hartzell – Vice President, Manufacturing
  • George Petropoulos – Vice President, Commercial Vehicle Government Sales

Current board of directors

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Current members of the board of directors are as follows:[64]

References

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  1. ^ "Contact – Workhorse". Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  2. ^ "AMP Electric Vehicles: From car converter to truck OEM".
  3. ^ "Navistar Shutting Down Workhorse as Part of Cost-Cutting".
  4. ^ "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 February 4, 2022.
  5. ^ Kiley, David. "GM In Talks To Sell Ohio Plant To EV Truck Venture Workhorse". Forbes. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  6. ^ "AMP Electric Vehicles to Acquire Assets of Workhorse Brand From Navistar Affiliate - News". eepower.com. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  7. ^ "AMP Holding Inc. is Now Workhorse Group Inc". NGT News. April 17, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  8. ^ "Form 10-K - SEC.gov". www.sec.gov. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  9. ^ DeBrosse, Jim (November 20, 2020). "Steve Burns Wants Lordstown Motors to Build the World's Best Electric Pickup Truck". Cincinnati Magazine. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  10. ^ Bates, Michael (February 7, 2019). "Steve Burns Steps Down as Workhorse CEO". www.ngtnews.com. NGTNews. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  11. ^ Foldy, Ben (November 5, 2021). "WSJ News Exclusive | Electric-Van Maker Workhorse Is Being Investigated by the Justice Department, Documents Show". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  12. ^ O'Kane, Sean (November 5, 2021). "EV startup Workhorse faces Department of Justice probe". The Verge. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  13. ^ a b "The Enquirer". www.cincinnati.com. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  14. ^ "Workhorse discloses DoJ, SEC probe related to USPS contract". Reuters. November 8, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  15. ^ "Workhorse Appoints Richard F. Dauch as Chief Executive Officer". Workhorse Group, Inc. July 29, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  16. ^ "Workhorse Group Reports Second Quarter 2021 Results". Workhorse Group, Inc. August 9, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  17. ^ "Workhorse Group Announces Proposed Settlements of Class Action Lawsuit and Related Shareholder Derivative Actions". Workhorse Group, Inc. October 27, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  18. ^ "Workhorse Group Provides Business Update". Workhorse Group, Inc. December 28, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  19. ^ "Workhorse Group Strengthens Financial Position Through Deleveraging Transaction". Workhorse Group, Inc. April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  20. ^ Engel, Liz (August 9, 2022). "Workhorse Group signs contract manufacturing agreement with Silicon Valley firm". www.bizjournals.com. Cincinnati Business Courier. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  21. ^ kgeismar (March 2, 2022). "Workhorse and GreenPower EV Star Cab and Chassis | GreenPower". GreenPower Motor Company. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  22. ^ Assis, Claudia. "GM plans to sell Ohio plant to electric truck company Workhorse Group". MarketWatch. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  23. ^ O'Kane, Sean (May 8, 2019). "GM is trying to sell a closed factory to troubled EV startup Workhorse". The Verge. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  24. ^ Selak, Jr, Ron (June 22, 2019). "Workhorse secures $25 million in financing". Tribune Chronicle. Ogden Newspapers. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  25. ^ "GM sells Ohio-based Lordstown Assembly plant to electric truck start-up". www.msn.com. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  26. ^ Inc, Workhorse Group. "Workhorse Group Signs Intellectual Property Licensing Agreement with Lordstown Motors Corp". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved November 8, 2019. {{cite press release}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  27. ^ "We Drove the Predecessor to LMC Motors' Endurance Electric Pickup". Trucks.com. November 21, 2019. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019.
  28. ^ O'Kane, Sean (June 14, 2021). "Lordstown Motors CEO resigns after investigation into preorders". The Verge. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  29. ^ "Kingsburg Truck Sales Bolsters Workhorse Partnership as Workhorse Sharpens Commercial EV Focus". Workhorse Group, Inc. June 12, 2024. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  30. ^ "Patents Assigned to Workhorse Group Inc. - Justia Patents Search". patents.justia.com. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  31. ^ "W4CC – Workhorse". Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  32. ^ "W750 – Workhorse". March 13, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  33. ^ "W56 – Workhorse". Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  34. ^ "Q2 2022 Earnings Call - Page 7" (PDF).
  35. ^ "Linamar to supply Commercial Vehicle eAxle program to Workhorse Group" (PDF).
  36. ^ "Workhorse Begins Production of W56 Chassis". Workhorse Group, Inc. September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  37. ^ Hsu, Tiffany (November 7, 2016). "Workhorse Group to Make Electric Pickup Trucks". Trucks.com. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  38. ^ "Workhorse unveils pictures, specs of W-15 electric work pickup". Roadshow. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  39. ^ ZumMallen, Ryan (May 3, 2017). "First Drive: Workhorse W-15 Electric Pickup Truck Offers Speed and Utility". Trucks.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019.
  40. ^ Randall, Chris (March 13, 2020). "Workhorse puts electric pickup development on hold". www.electrive.com. Electrive. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  41. ^ Kyle Field (August 1, 2020). "The Lordstown Motors Endurance Enters The Electric Truck Fray". Clean Technica.
  42. ^ "Lawmaker demands U.S. Postal Service turn over vehicle contract". Reuters. March 12, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2021 – via www.reuters.com.
  43. ^ Adler, Alan (December 2, 2020). "Workhorse scrutinized as Postal Service again delays contract". www.freighwaves.com. Freighwaves. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  44. ^ Assis, Claudia. "Workhorse stock plunges after news Oshkosh wins USPS contract". MarketWatch. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  45. ^ "Oshkosh Defense to build U.S. Postal vehicles; Workhorse shares slide". finance.yahoo.com. February 23, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  46. ^ "Workhorse Pursues Long-Shot Bid to Overturn Postal Truck Award". Bloomberg.com. March 4, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  47. ^ Bogage, Jacob. "Electric automaker Workhorse sues Postal Service to halt truck contract". Washington Post. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  48. ^ "Workhorse Files Formal Complaint Regarding USPS NGDV Contract". Workhorse Group, Inc. June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  49. ^ O'Kane, Sean (June 16, 2021). "Workhorse starts federal court fight over lost USPS contract". The Verge. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  50. ^ Steve Burns (March 11, 2020). "Lordstown Motors wants to avoid the 'carnage' of failed EV startups". The Verge (Interview). Interviewed by Sean O'Kane. Retrieved November 9, 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.
  51. ^ Halvorson, Bengt (November 10, 2017). "Mail Forwarding: Workhorse Vies for USPS Contract, Readies Vans, Drones, Copters". Car and Driver. Retrieved November 10, 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.
  52. ^ Korosec, Kristen (June 10, 2019). "Workhorse gets $25 million needed to finish electric delivery van". www.techcrunch.com. Verizon Media. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  53. ^ Bates, Michael (November 13, 2019). "EnerDel to Supply Batteries for Workhorse C-Series". www.ngtnews.com. NGTNews. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  54. ^ Adler, Alan (November 7, 2019). "GM sells shuttered Lordstown plant to Workhorse founder (update)". www.freightwaves.com. Freightwaves. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  55. ^ O'Kane, Sean (August 9, 2021). "Workhorse is already redesigning its new electric van". The Verge. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  56. ^ Hawkins, Andrew J. (September 22, 2021). "Workhorse suspends delivery, recalls dozens of its flagship electric vans". The Verge. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  57. ^ "Workhorse's new CEO admits the startup's electric van is no workhorse". www.theverge.com. November 9, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  58. ^ PRNewswire (December 18, 2018). "Workhorse Group to Exhibit SureFly Electric Octocopter at 2019 Detroit Auto Show". AviationPros. Archived from the original on December 19, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  59. ^ Dominic Perry (February 12, 2020). "Moog builds on benefits of SureFly acquisition". Flightglobal.
  60. ^ Adler, Alan (August 13, 2020). "Workhorse perfecting HorseFly truck-based drone delivery". www.freightwaves.com. Freightwaves. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  61. ^ Caproni, Erin. "Cincinnati firm partners on drone delivery tests". www.bizjournals.com. Cincinnati Business Courier. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  62. ^ "Aero – Workhorse". March 13, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  63. ^ "Company – Workhorse". Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  64. ^ "Workhorse Announces Annual Stockholders' Meeting Results". Workhorse Group, Inc. May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  65. ^ "Workhorse Group Announces Board of Directors Transition". Workhorse Group, Inc. March 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
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