Chinese electric truck startup Windrose plans US stock market debut

Chinese electric truck manufacturer Windrose Electric is preparing to list its shares in the United States, the Financial Times (FT) reports.

The company plans to go public in 2026 through a merger with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), targeting a market valuation of at least $2 billion.

Windrose Electric, which began exporting heavy-duty electric trucks from China to the United States in 2026, aims to raise more than $200 million through the SPAC transaction by the end of the year.

“We would like to dominate the electrification of the truck market,” Wen Han, chief executive of Windrose, told the FT. “We have to kill diesel. That is the enemy.”

The company’s Windrose Global E700 truck, which has a range of 416 miles (nearly 670 kilometres), is priced at $285,000, compared with $260,000 for the Tesla Semi, which offers a range of 325 miles (523 kilometres).

Wen argued that tariffs cause greater harm to “inefficient and generally incumbent players” in the industry. “Tariffs never work,” Han added. 

The transition to electric vehicles in the global trucking sector has progressed slowly. However, rising diesel fuel prices linked to tensions in the Middle East and the growing presence of Tesla’s electric trucks have increased interest in battery-powered heavy vehicles.

According to the International Energy Agency, US electric truck sales rose by 25% last year to 17,000 units compared with 2024. Despite the growth, electric vehicles still account for less than 5% of the truck market in both the United States and Europe. In China, however, electric trucks now represent 37% of the market.

The report added that electric vehicles are expected to account for half of all new truck sales in China by 2028.

By Jeyhun Aghazada