Windrose Technology — briefing note

Suzhou-built battery-electric Class 8 long-haul trucks aiming for a US listing

Early-stage zero-emission heavy-truck maker manufacturing in Suzhou and Hefei, targeting global fleets and a 2026/27 US IPO.

Windrose Technology is a zero-emission heavy-duty truck startup founded in 2022 that designs and builds battery-electric Class 8 / European tractor trucks for long-haul freight. It manufactures in China (Suzhou and Hefei) through contract-assembly partners, operates a deliberately international corporate structure (Belgian global HQ, China manufacturing, US sales/assembly), and has begun limited deliveries in China, the US and Europe. As an early-stage company its financials are largely private; figures below are flagged where unverified or estimated, with as-of dates.

What they do

Windrose’s flagship is the R700, a battery-electric Class 8 / European long-haul tractor. Reported specs (as of early 2026, drawn from media and EV databases, not an audited datasheet):

Long-range variant: ~729–730 kWh battery, ~670 km (~400–450 mi) range.
Short-range variant: ~436 kWh battery, ~200–250 mi range.
Power: ~1,040 hp; 800 V architecture; megawatt-level dual-inlet fast charging adding ~400 km in ~35 minutes.
Indicative price: ~US$250,000 (media-reported, varies by market/config).

The R700 is reported to have achieved homologation/type approval in the US, EU and China. The product is battery-electric; no verified hydrogen/fuel-cell model is in production — treat any hydrogen claim as unconfirmed.

Manufacturing is via partners: a Higer facility in Suzhou and a JAC facility in Hefei serve Asia-Pacific. US “assembly” is final technical assembly, battery integration and QC on trucks shipped from China, planned at sites tied to Aertssen Logistics near the ports of Savannah (Rincon, Georgia) and Tacoma, Washington, targeted to be operating by end-2026 (earlier 2025 and Huntington Beach, CA timelines slipped — flag as moving target). A European HQ/workshop is in Antwerp/Zele, Belgium, with a reported ~€175M plant planned in France (unverified).

Key facts & funding

Founded: 2022. Founder/CEO: Wen Han.
Headquarters: Global HQ in Antwerp, Belgium (the entity Windrose intends to take public is structured as Belgian); China operations centred on Hefei/Suzhou. Some databases still list Hefei as HQ — structure is split, so confirm on-site.
Funding: Series B of ~US$110M; subsequent Series C / C-II rounds each >US$100M, the latest reported at US$100M on ~4 Feb 2026. Total raised reported at ~US$542M (CB Insights, as of early 2026 — third-party aggregate, treat as approximate). Investors named include China Mobile (Chain Leader Fund), GSR Ventures, FountainVest Partners, Yunqi Partners, HITE Hedge, Hefei Innovation Investment, and Suzhou High-tech Zone Financial Holding.
Valuation: no reliable public valuation figure — gap; do not quote a number.
Employees: scale not reliably public — gap.
Order book / customers: US deliveries began ~1 April 2025 (some sources cite ongoing 2025 ramp); company cited 100+ committed orders for delivery within six months, ~20 from US customers (company-stated, not independently audited). Xos Trucks is the named North American import/sales/support partner for the R700. Named logistics customers/partners referenced include Maersk, Nike, Kuehne+Nagel, CEVA, Decathlon, KLN (Kerry Logistics), Rokin; treat as pilots/LOIs rather than confirmed volume contracts unless verified on-site.
US listing: pre-listing as of mid-2026. Windrose has stated it is preparing a US IPO targeting ~US$200M, with the listed vehicle structured as a Belgian company. No confirmed SPAC merger and no completed listing verified — status remains “in preparation”. Confirm current status directly.

Leadership

Wen Han — founder, chairman and CEO. China-born, US-educated: BA from Williams College (math/economics/Spanish), MBA from Stanford. Prior roles: chief strategy/financial officer at autonomous-trucking firm Plus; venture investing at GSR Ventures (Palo Alto); macro investing at Bridgewater Associates. Named to Fortune 40 Under 40 and a Forbes outstanding-Chinese list. Lives in Antwerp.

Relevance to the visit

For an audience focused on zero-emission heavy trucking and freight decarbonisation, Windrose is a useful contrast to the dominant players. Its pitch is “the world’s most global electric truck” — China-built cost base, but homologated and sold into US/EU markets where Tesla Semi has been slow to scale volume and where BYD competes mainly in buses and lighter commercial vehicles. The R700’s headline range (~670 km) and megawatt charging put it in the same conversation as Tesla Semi on paper, while Windrose differentiates on global market access and a multi-jurisdiction assembly model designed partly to navigate tariffs. The site visit is a chance to test the gap between company claims (order book, valuation, listing timeline, US assembly) and verifiable production reality — exactly the areas flagged above as unconfirmed.

Sources

https://www.electrive.com/2025/12/18/windrose-sets-sights-on-powering-5-of-the-worlds-trucks-by-2030/
https://eu.36kr.com/en/p/3667438750261890
https://news.metal.com/newscontent/102715120/electric-heavy-duty-truck-maker-windrose-technology-bags-110-million-in-series-b-financing
https://www.cleantrucking.com/battery-electric/article/15775110/windrose-r700-semi-gets-us-eu-and-china-approval
https://chargedevs.com/newswire/windrose-electric-class-8-truck-achieves-homologation-in-us-eu-and-china/
https://www.ttnews.com/articles/windrose-battery-electric
https://www.ttnews.com/articles/windrose-us-assembly-plants
https://www.supplychain247.com/article/windroses-electric-truck-plant-savannah-georgia
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/chinese-class-8-ev-truck-maker-announces-factory-in-georgia
https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/windrose-technology-prepares-for-us-ipo-aims-to-raise-200m-93CH-3220554
https://www.cbinsights.com/company/windrose/financials
https://www.amcham-shanghai.org/en/article/new-member-welcome-wen-han-chairman-ceo-windrose-technology
https://www.belganewsagency.eu/chinese-electric-truck-maker-windrose-sets-up-european-headquarters-in-flanders
https://www.truckinginfo.com/10224636/windrose-trucks-coming-to-u-s-in-2025
https://ev.motorwatt.com/ev-database/database-electric-trucks/windrose-r700-ev

What they do

Key facts & funding

Leadership

Recent news

Relevance to the visit

Sources