Workhorse REx Hybrid Truck
 

Interesting. 310 km range on the range extender. Which should cover all range anxiety issues for the typical user.

And that typical user probably won't go more than a dozen miles over the 80 mile battery range, anyway.

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Was wondering what glider they were using, but pleasantly surprised to find they've built a bespoke chassis rather than buying a cheap Chinese one.

But given how small the company is, I wonder if they've done proper crash testing on it, yet.

I see huge potential for hybrid trucks, but I can't figure out how one could optimize operation and fuel economy without a healthy dose of operator intervention.

Ideally the engine would be sized just a tiny bit more powerful than needed to cruise down the highway at near peak efficiency. The electric motor would supplement the engine for acceleration and hill climbing.

On shorter trips you would want to use EV only. On longer trips with hill climbs, you would want to preserve enough of the battery capacity to assist the pull up the hill, and if pulling a large load, that could require nearly the whole battery capacity. That would take some prior planning to preserve the EV charge for the hill climb, or even instruct the engine to charge the battery prior to arriving at the hill.

Without proper planning and operator intervention, plug-in vehicles get poorer fuel economy on long trips than their non-plug-in counterparts. This is seen in EPA MPG ratings on vehicles like the Ford Fusion hybrid (41 MPG) vs the Ford Fusion Energi plug-in (38 MPG).

The MPG hit does not need to be as dramatic as it is but REX models
Tend to skimp on the Rex in one way or another.

In the Gen I Volt they used the cheapest motor they had in the stable and tuned it
On the BMW they only cared about weight and skipped efficiency
On the Ford they did a poor job of packaging the drivetrain/battery and again lost efficiency

I think if we start getting into ultralight materials coupled with a more energy dense battery we will likely get to where there is no edge for the straight hybrid model

Further, every hybrid on the road could have a plug, use the same battery and gain 3-6 city miles of range.

Workhorse plans on selling $52,500 plug-in hybrid trucks that will get 28/32 later this year.

Perhaps when the EV systems become more powerful that makes sense. As it is, the Prius can only go about 1 mile on EV with a full charge. People with no access to charging will still prefer the price advantage of a hybrid over the bigger battery in a plug-in.

I'm not sure what minimum size battery would make sense in a truck and still produce sufficient power. My guess would be around 30 kWh. At a 2.5C discharge rate, that would give you a 100 horsepower electric boost. That's half the size and power of the Bolt EV battery and motor. Couple that with a 150-200 HP engine, and you might have a very capable and fuel efficient full-size truck.

Mount the 4-cylinder engine horizontally to make the truck FWD and you can eliminate the driveline and rear differential. Then mount the electric motor in the rear for part-time 4-wheel drive, and the battery under the bed to keep center of gravity as low as possible and shift some weight back so the truck rides smoother and handles better.

That's my idea for a hybrid truck, anyhow.

But I get pretty close to that with my '88 Toyota 4x4 :-(

I'd guess I can haul as much or more weight, too, and I don't have to worry about scratching the pretty thing. The electric outlets would be nice, though.

Electric outlets are easy.
You don't need a $50,000 truck to get plugins.

I am sure that you could add that feature for less than $52,500.

What is the payload and towing limits for your Yota? What are the torque and horsepower ratings? Consumers have demanded more over the years.