In the world of electric vehicles, there haven’t been many changes for many decades. Even though the first electric car came out in the late 1800s, it couldn’t compete with fuel engines. The electric car simply cost a lot more. It cost more to build, maintain, and drive.
But now, a few hundred years later, we see drastic changes in the automotive world. Preserving the environment, innovation, and efficiency have become paramount in the industry.
For a decade, Tesla was the only big electric car company that existed. But now we have a new player in the market – Workhorse. But even though it is an electric car company, it has an entirely different approach than Tesla.
What Workhorse Does
Tesla develops mostly cars that work on electric power. We’ve recently seen their first SUV, and chances are it won’t be that popular. On the other hand, Workhorse is primarily focused on building delivery vans, pickups, SUVs, and other similar utility vehicles.
Their focus is on providing various shipping, delivery, and logistics companies with vehicles for their needs. This includes companies like DHL, UPS, and FedEx. They’ve taken it a step further in developing delivery vehicles with their aviation department that makes drones.
But apart from developing new electric delivery vehicles, the company also has partners through which they rent out vehicles. This is not the traditional vehicle rental but “sharing”, which is a much more successful model. But why is Workhorse making such great strides in vehicle sharing?
Workhorse is Going B2B
Just about two decades ago, sharing a vehicle seemed like an absurd idea. But today, we have access to much better technologies, and people are more focused on efficiency than ever. More specifically, people don’t want to use vehicles unless they have to.
At the same time, they want to make the most of them and avoid pollution in every way possible. Today, every company is looking to go green in every possible way and take the initiative to protect the environment.
This is where Workhorse is coming into play. As we mentioned earlier, the Workhorse Group works with its partners, COOP, and Ryder, to rent vehicles. But they don’t do it traditionally but as vehicle sharing.
This means that the terms are looser and that companies can rent a vehicle short term. This business model isn’t something that we’ve seen often. At the same time, all of the vehicles offered for sharing are all electrical and save on running costs.
New Opportunities for Companies
The first North America rollout of Workhorse vehicles started in 2020. The company set in motion a peer-to-peer sharing platform for utility vehicles. The new C-1000 model was made available to businesses that want to rent vehicles.
The company offers both long-term and short term vehicle leases for different needs. Companies no longer have to invest a lot of money in their fleets without knowing what their demands will be in the future. At the same time, there is no need to spend lots of cash instantly.
Simply put, companies can use their core finances to develop their infrastructure and business processes. This will make it easier for smaller businesses with less capital to start their operations as financing their fleets won’t be an obstacle.
How it All Comes Together
There is huge potential for immediate realization and utilization of the benefits provided by Workhorse electric vehicles. Combined with the infrastructure model, the C-1000 will fill a significant gap in this modern economy. The demand for last-mile delivery with electric vehicles is continuing to grow.
The COOP peer-to-peer platform lets customers try out vehicles with ease and get what they need very quickly. At the same time, they don’t have any risk of long-term commitment. They can try out the vehicles, see how they fare, and whether all of this has any financial sense to them.
At the same time, there are no limitations on which markets the vehicles can be used. Ryder is a perfect partner for this model as the company leads in developing useful solutions for operations with electric vehicles.
Companies Will Pay Only What They Used
With vehicle sharing, the model is different than with traditional rental. Rates are flexible, measured in time the vehicle has been used, and how much mileage it had during that period. Essential companies will only have to pay for the time their drivers spent behind the wheel.
The rates include maintenance, insurance, and electricity. All of the vehicles are maintained by Workhorse and kept in shape for customers. A lot of companies can do the numbers with this model and get a sweet deal.
At the same time, companies will be able to enjoy a lot more flexibility. They will be able to rent vehicles instantly at the nearest location whenever needed. If they don’t need that vehicle any longer, they can simply return it and pay for the time they used it.
What The Future Holds
The Workhorse Group’s stocks have grown significantly in the same period as the company is developing its operations. The company had a single surge of 56% when it got added onto the Russell 3000 index. The company’s stocks are also growing rapidly, and new investments are pouring in.
This is a clear sign that the business world sees a lot of potential with this new vehicle-sharing model. At the same time, vehicle sharing is also growing globally in popularity. This means that companies that provide these kinds of services are expected to see significant returns.
