Dana Incorporated and Workhorse Group recently partnered on the design, development and production of a city delivery vehicle featuring Dana’s integrated electric-drive axle, Spicer Electrified.
Ohio-based Workhorse is a technology company focused on providing sustainable and cost-effective electric mobility solutions to the commercial electric transportation sector. The company has been developing sustainable electric vehicle (EV) solutions since 2007 and has nearly 3 million miles on Workhorse EVs in live, real-world, last-mile delivery routes with fleet customers.
“Workhorse’s extensive development background and manufacturing experience in the EV space provide the industry-leading capabilities we sought in a strategic partner,” said Mark Wallace, executive vice president of Dana and president of Dana Commercial Driveline Technologies. “With our 20 years of electrification proficiency and multiple electrified products already in the marketplace, the integrated e-Drive axle solution leverages proven competencies that will enhance the Workhorse electric vehicle architecture to deliver maximum efficiency at a reduced system weight.”
Expanding the established Spicer Electrified portfolio, the new integrated e-Drive axle is ideal for the Workhorse vehicle, delivering substantial efficiency for its city delivery duty cycle while offering a significant weight savings of 388 pounds, allowing higher payload and battery capacity.
Due to the integrated design, the e-Drive axle also offers optimized packaging with more chassis space to position batteries inside the frame rails and accommodate features such as side steps that are common with medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
“Our innovative last-mile delivery EV platforms are based on our years of learnings and road-proven electrification expertise,” said Steve Burns, chief executive officer of Workhorse. “We look forward to enhancing our EV offerings with Dana’s leadership position in drivetrain and propulsion technologies.
“This alliance uniquely positions us to jointly develop sustainable solutions that will encourage city delivery fleets to go electric and feel confident in the vehicle’s performance and cost of ownership.”