At the IAA Transportation conference in Hanover, Germany, Senior Editor Jay Traugott got an in-depth look inside and out of the Windrose Class 8 battery-electric semi truck.
At first glance, the Windrose semi looks a lot like the Tesla Semi truck, but it's is very much its own vehicle, as Jason Roycht, strategic advisor at Windrose Technology, explains.
In fact, these two trucks were the only trucks at IAA 2024 designed to be pure battery-electric from the ground up. During our time with the Windrose BEV, we learned all about what makes it unique. This includes why it has one central driver's seat, why it does not have traditional mirrors, and why there's a version with one axle and another with two.
The Windrose is equipped with a 729 kWh battery, an 800V high-voltage platform capable of megawatt-level dual-inlet charging, a drag coefficient of 0.2755, and an impressive loaded autonomous range of 670 km (416 miles) with a gross weight of 49 tons (98,000 lbs.).
To compare, the Tesla Semi is reported to come with a choice of two battery sizes (500 kWh and 800 kWh), a drag coefficient of 0.35 to 0.36, a 1,000V powertrain charging system, a maximum 500-mile range, and a gross weight of 82,000 lbs. Final specs from Tesla have yet to be announced.
[Related: China's Windrose could Tesla Semi's biggest rival]
Windrose says it's targeting a base price of $250,000 but nothing has been confirmed. The company is also facing a potential issue regarding its US market entry due to possible lockout of Chinese-built vehicles.
Last spring, the US government raised tariffs to 100 percent on Chinese-built passenger EVs. There's still no word whether this will be applied to commercial vehicles. The solution, according to Windrose, is to have domestic manufacturing, potentially in the state of Georgia.
Above all, Windrose is adamant its EV semi is not a Tesla Semi clone but rather its own unique vehicle.