Workhorse announces new 'Electric Pick-up' concept: W-15

US-BASED Workhorse has announced it is developing a large lithium-ion battery-powered vehicle called the new Workhorse W-15.

These vehicles will run cleanly and powerfully for a reported 130km before the petrol-powered generators kick in to charge the batteries back up again, leaving the car with a range of more than 500km.

Yahoo Finance reported that the expected 130km initial range was reached to satisfy most day-to-day use of the cars, meaning for local workers and drivers the back-up engine will rarely need to kick in at all. Just remember to plug it in every night.

For a lighter kerb weight, composite body panels and a high-strength stainless-steel ladder-frame chassis were used. Mounted beneath the floor and between the axles, this new design also works to keep the large lithium-ion batteries safe from harm.

To add to the features of the car, Workhorse claims the light frame and net weight aren’t a problem as far as safety goes, pointing to a large crumple zone and low centre of gravity as reasons for the ultra-low-emission-ute’s “safest pick-up ever built” label.

With millions of pick-ups sold in the United States every year, the W-15 will aim to cut both emission output and cost of ownership for owners of large pick-up fleets.

This ambitious plug-in is also said to have five interior seats along with its large truck bed.

If all the claims made about this upcoming work car are true, it could be a true modern engineering marvel when it hits showroom floors in 2018.