The electric truck developer secures USD 110m in Series B funding from financial and strategic sponsors to support mass production and the delivery of 10,000 units within three years – to China, the US, and Europe

Wen Han is not deterred by widely expected anti-dumping action by Western markets to curb exports of electric vehicles (EVs) from China. The founder, chairman, and CEO of Windrose Technology, a China-centric manufacturer of electric heavy-duty trucks, is pushing into Europe and the US.

“We are going against trend,” he said. “We are coming full speed into European markets, opening up production and investing in local people. We have a standing order for almost 5,000 trucks in the US and will start delivering next year. We also plan to list in the US.”

Though barely two years old, Windrose has secured four rounds of funding, most recently a USD 110m Series B from global industry property developer Goodman Group, HSBC, and HITE Hedge Asset Management, a US-based hedge fund focused on energy transition. About half the round comprises debt, which was provided by HSBC.

It follows a seed round from GSR Ventures, a strategic investment from China’s Rokin Logistics, and a sub-USD 40m Series A led by FountainVest Partners and Yunqi Partners and featuring re-ups from existing investors. Other backers include current and former senior executives from the China units of Starbucks, Coca-Cola, and Decathlon and US trucking players J.B. Hunt Transport Services and XPO.

According to Han, FountainVest had never participated in a Series A round before backing Windrose. The PE firm is an investor in Plus, a developer of autonomous driving technology for trucks where Han previously spent four years as chief strategy and financial officer. Before that, he was a partner at GSR. Han’s co-founder, Haoli Chen, used to run Dayun Group, one of China’s largest truck manufacturers.

Plus separated its China and US operations amid rising tensions between the two countries. Han described the development as “an unfortunate global reality, especially where there is an AI [artificial intelligence] element.” He doesn’t anticipate a similar fate for Windrose. Moreover, EV trade action is dismissed as a problem for passenger vehicles, not trucks.

“We don’t pretend not to be Chinese. I don’t pretend to be Singaporean, as many people have. If you’re an EV maker, being Chinese is a plus. That’s the reason we can do it,” Han added. He described Windrose’s proliferation of offices – an Asia headquarters in Hong Kong, a European headquarters in Belgium, offices in California and China – as a reflection of how trucking businesses are run globally.

Localisation of manufacturing may extend from China to the US as well as to Europe. A decision on that will come once mass production and delivery start at the end of this year. At present, there are 13 trucks on the road: one in the US, one in Europe, and 12 in China. The goal is to reach 10,000 units by 2027 and 20,000 units by 2028, which would make the company a top 25 player globally.

“We have orders in China, the US, and Europe, but we are careful about how we deliver. We want to fulfil demand quickly. It will be China first, then the US, and then Europe,” Han explained.

Windrose claims to outperform electric trucks in its weight class by range when carrying a full load, battery size, charging time, lightness of vehicle, level of air resistance, and peak power output. Of the competitors against which it benchmarks, only the Tesla Semi has a longer range (800 km to 670 km) and a larger battery (1,000 kilowatt hours to 729 kWh). It trails Windrose on other metrics.

Apart from Tesla, competitors include Scania, Mercedes-Benz, and Traton subsidiary Man Truck & Bus in Europe, VNR Electric and eCascadia in the US, and Baidu-backed DeepWay in China.

Han attributes Windrose’s fleetness to the team’s experience in new energy and combustion engine trucking, having a foothold in China’s fast-growing EV ecosystem, and close relationships with key customers. In the past year, it has established pilot trucking programmes with Decathlon and Rokin and launched a partnership with Goodman to develop fast-charging infrastructure on Goodman properties.

“If you look at our shareholder base, it covers a range of markets. We know what customers want globally from day one, so we don’t have to redesign a truck for the US or Europe. We can hit all major markets at the same time,” Han said.