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UPS’s 50 Workhorse Electric Trucks: What Was Announced—and What’s Verified

UPS’s 2018 announcement set a 50-truck electric delivery fleet goal. An earlier Houston demonstration offers operating context, but does not prove the plan was completed.
From TheFinanceBase Team3 min to read

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UPS announced on February 22, 2018, that it planned to deploy 50 plug-in electric delivery trucks developed with Workhorse. The announcement set out goals for zero tailpipe emissions and acquisition costs comparable to conventional-fueled trucks without subsidies. It was a plan, not confirmation that all 50 trucks entered service. A separate, earlier Houston-area demonstration offers evidence about how 18 UPS Workhorse electric trucks performed.

What UPS announced in 2018

UPS said it would deploy 50 plug-in electric delivery trucks designed with Workhorse. The company described the vehicles as having zero tailpipe emissions and said its aim was to achieve acquisition costs comparable to conventional-fueled trucks without subsidies—an industry first, according to the announcement.

UPS said real-world tests would help refine the design for a larger fleet in 2019 and beyond. Carlton Rose, then UPS president of Global Fleet Maintenance and Engineering, said battery, charging, and smart-grid advances were allowing UPS to specify delivery vehicles to eliminate emissions, noise, and dependence on diesel and gasoline. UPS’s February 22, 2018 announcement is the source for the plan and its stated aims.

Were all 50 trucks deployed?

The available records establish the announcement, but do not verify that all 50 planned trucks were ultimately deployed or provide operating results for those specific vehicles. Earlier UPS–Workhorse milestones are not proof that the 2018 plan was completed.

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A Workhorse investor presentation filed in 2020 retrospectively records an agreement with Navistar to electrify UPS trucks in 2012, UPS purchases of E-100 vehicles in 2014, delivery of 18 all-electric vehicles in 2015, and a UPS order for 200 additional Workhorse electric vehicles in 2016. These are separate milestones; none establishes the final status of the 50-truck plan.

What the earlier Houston demonstration showed

A U.S. Department of Energy FY 2017 progress report, published in 2018, describes 18 Workhorse all-electric trucks delivering UPS packages from facilities across the Houston region during a two-year demonstration. This is useful operational context, but it is a separate project from the 50 trucks announced in 2018.

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Delivery capability and operating costs

The DOE report concluded that the demonstration vehicles adequately met UPS’s regional package-delivery needs. For the project period, it estimated average operating costs of approximately $0.07 per mile and savings of $16,259 to date. Those are Houston demonstration estimates, not lifetime savings or results for a 50-truck fleet.

Energy use and emissions

The project vehicles consumed approximately 85,632 kWh. The report compared that electricity use with an estimated 9,247 gallons of diesel that a similar number of diesel package trucks would have used over the same travel distance. It also reported 206,954 pounds of CO2 emissions reduced in the Houston project to date. These figures are demonstration-period calculations, not measurements of the 2018 plan’s fleet.

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Implementation problems

The report also described utilization below expectations amid software, component, and service issues. The contrast matters: the trucks were reported to meet delivery needs, but the project did not operate without technical and support constraints.

Read the project details in the DOE FY 2017 VTO Electrification Annual Progress Report.

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What “zero-emission” means here

UPS’s 2018 description referred to zero tailpipe emissions from the planned plug-in electric trucks. That does not mean electricity generation or vehicle manufacturing has no emissions; the announcement’s stated claim concerns emissions from the truck’s tailpipe. The DOE report’s comparison of electricity consumed with estimated diesel use and its project emissions calculation provides operational context, not a full life-cycle emissions analysis.

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Are these the same as Workhorse’s current electric trucks?

No. The 2018 UPS trucks should not be identified with Workhorse’s current W4 CC offering. Workhorse currently describes the W4 CC as an all-electric Class 4 cab chassis and lists up to 150 miles of range, a 7,000 lb payload, and Level 2 and Level 3 charging support. The product page cautions that driver habits, weather, and other factors can limit range. These are current W4 CC specifications, not specifications for the historical UPS vehicles. See Workhorse’s W4 CC product page.

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What the evidence supports

  • UPS announced a plan for 50 Workhorse-developed plug-in electric delivery trucks on February 22, 2018.
  • The stated aims included zero tailpipe emissions and acquisition-cost parity with conventional-fueled trucks without subsidies.
  • A separate DOE-documented Houston project involved 18 Workhorse electric trucks and reported adequate package-delivery capability alongside technical and service issues.
  • The available evidence does not confirm completion or specific performance results for the 50-truck plan.

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