UPDATE 1-EV company Workhorse appoints Richard Dauch CEO

(Adds background, details, shares)

July 29 (Reuters) - Electric vehicle company Workhorse Group said on Thursday it appointed Richard Dauch as the company's chief executive officer.

Effective August 2, Dauch will succeed Duane Hughes who has served as the company's CEO over the last two years. Hughes will continue to work as a consultant through the transition period, Workhorse said.

Dauch previously served as the CEO of vehicle propulsion systems maker Delphi Technologies.

The company also said it was withdrawing its previously stated forecast during the leadership transition, in order to give Dauch sufficient time to establish a plan to address continuing challenges.

In February, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) said it will award a multibillion-dollar, 10-year contract to Oshkosh Defense to manufacture a new generation of postal delivery vehicles.

Workhorse Group filed a legal challenge in June to the USPS decision.

Shares of the Cincinnati, Ohio-based company rose about 2% to $11.54 in premarket trading, after having fallen about 32% since the contract award to Oshkosh Defense. (Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Krishna Chandra Eluri)