Windrose Prepares for July Launch of US Truck Assembly
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ANAHEIM, Calif. — Windrose expects to begin assembly of its R700 Class 8 battery-electric tractors in Huntington Beach, Calif., by July 4, the truck manufacturer’s CEO said.
In a sit-down with Transport Topics at the 2025 Advanced Clean Transportation Expo, Wen Han said buildout of the company’s first assembly plant in the United States was underway.
Windrose will also have picked the location for the truck maker’s second assembly plant in the U.S. by Independence Day, he said, adding that the search had been narrowed to four states.
While many of Windrose’s components are sourced from China, Han plans to build assembly plants around the globe, he said.
The Antwerp, Belgium-based company is finalizing a deal to set up a production facility in Valenciennes in northeastern France and expects to build facilities in China and Australia, the executive said.
A Windrose EV truck during high-temperature/high-altitude testing. (Wen Han via YouTube)
“The modular approach is easier. You don’t need several hundred million bucks to set up a plant,” Han said. “I think being global is a cure to the dirty word of tariffs.”
Han is not worried about the ongoing trade war between the Chinese native’s homeland and the country where he was educated. Han’s undergraduate degree is from Williams College and his MBA was earned at Stanford University.
“Tariffs haven’t slowed us down yet,” he said. “I think of tariffs as something that should be expected.”
Every major country has used tariffs as part of its trade policy arsenal, he noted, including the U.S. during the first Trump administration and China on imported cars to build the domestic passenger vehicle manufacturing behemoth it is today.
A Windrose R700 battery-electric tractor at ACT Expo. (Keiron Greenhalgh/Transport Topics)
“Donald Trump is not the first person to impose tariffs,” Han said.
Every reasonable supplier responds to tariffs by increasing prices, he said, adding that Windrose’s pricing structure has a price escalator and de-escalator based on tariffs.
The truck maker’s first customer in the U.S. was announced April 14 — JoyRide Logistics.
Phoenix-based carrier JoyRide provides power-only services to dry van, refrigerated and expedited customers. Initial rollout of the Windrose tractors will be in Arizona, California and Nevada, the companies said.
JoyRide, which only operates battery-electric tractors, will participate in the North American Council for Freight Efficiency’s Run on Less — Messy Middle program in September with Windrose tractors.
“Partnering with Windrose allows us to stay ahead — not just on sustainability, but on total operational performance,” said Adis Danan, JoyRide president. “We’re talking fuel savings, reduced maintenance and a future-ready fleet that our customers can get behind. We want to make electric logistics efficient, scalable and cool.”
Charging a Windrose EV truck with a high-voltage, fast-charging system. Han said the trucks batteries can charge to 65% in 35 minutes. (Wen Han via YouTube)
Windrose sleeper tractors have a range of 420 miles; fast-charging capabilities; over 700 kilowatt-hours of battery using both the lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) and lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) battery types; and weigh under 26,000 pounds.
The two companies partnered with charging infrastructure specialist EO Charging to support the rollout.
Windrose also teamed up with FleetNet America by Cox Automotive on maintenance support for its trucks, the companies announced April 29.
“That’s key, because our customers need uptime. And we cannot do this alone. We must have really strong partners,” Han said.
“Most of the U.S. supply chain moves on trucks — and those trucks can’t afford downtime,” added Aaron Picozzi, FleetNet America mobile client sales director. “Partnering with Windrose allows us to support the next generation of heavy-duty vehicles with the same reliability and scale our customers expect.”
Windrose’s partners also include deep-pocketed backers such as banking groups HSBC and Citi plus investment firms Fountainvest, GSR Ventures, HITE Hedge and Goodman Group.
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But with assembly plants on the way, partnerships in place and what seems to be limitless ambitions, Han is looking to raise further funds by filing for an initial public offering later this year, he said.
Han favors going public because he believes the accountability demanded by regulators will give customers confidence in the company and his leadership, he said, while admitting: “Not everyone believes in my highly aggressive targets.”
Windrose’s rise from startup to challenging legacy truck makers and fellow disruptor Tesla in less than three years — with a truck that recognizes the same laws of aerodynamics as the automaker’s ballyhooed Semi — has raised eyebrows in boardrooms across the globe.
However, as Han told TT: “We’re not inventing the future. We’re accelerating the future.”
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