The partnership could expand further, Semler said, once customer appetite is gauged. (Windrose Technology)
Key Takeaways:
- Xos Trucks will import, sell and support Windrose Technology’s battery-electric R700 Class 8 tractors in North America starting with customer deliveries expected in May.
- The partnership matters because Xos aims to challenge established truck makers with competitively priced short- and long-range R700 models that offer up to 450 miles per charge.
- Next, Xos and Windrose are evaluating U.S. manufacturing opportunities while expanding distribution beyond California and monitoring customer demand to guide future collaboration.
Xos Trucks will be the importer, dealer and aftermarket care provider for the full entry of Windrose Technology’s battery-electric R700 Class 8 tractor into the North American heavy-duty truck market.
Customer deliveries are expected to begin in May, Xos CEO Dakota Semler told Transport Topics in an exclusive interview, as the startup looks to challenge legacy truck makers and face off against fellow newcomer Tesla. Each sells a tractor with a less conventional driving position in the center of the cab.
R700s will initially be available in two configurations:
- A short-range tractor with a 436-kilowatt-hour battery pack capable of 200-250 miles
- A long-range semi with a 730-kWh battery pack capable of 400-450 miles
Xos will import fully built tractors for customers. Shorthaul and drayage fleets have already ordered the trucks, Semler said, while declining to provide any names.
The Trump administration’s Section 232 tariffs on imports of medium- and heavy-duty trucks and parts are already incorporated into the price, the executive said.
Windrose’s short-range configuration will be available for around $270,000 while its long-range sibling will cost $290,000, he said, adding that such entry-level pricing makes the R700 competitive with existing tractors, including the Tesla Semi.
Distribution will initially focus on California, but Xos is looking at Texas, Washington, New York and New Jersey thereafter.
Los Angeles-based Xos — which manufactures its own battery-electric step vans and medium-duty strip chassis in Tennessee — already offered a fleet-as-a-service product for carriers as well as mobile charging solutions.
“We began talking to Windrose and realized: hey, you know what? We’ve delivered and supported a lot of vehicles, thousands of vehicles now and across the U.S. Why don’t we use our support network and why don’t we use our commercial team and sales team to help them scale here?” Semler said.
Xos and Windrose began talking almost three years ago, said Semler, but the relationship was first made public in September 2025 when the two companies announced that the Antwerp, Belgium-based manufacturer’s fleet customers would have access to Xos’ mobile charging solution, Xos Hub.
The partnership could expand further, Semler said, once customer appetite is gauged.
Windrose CEO Wen Han told TT a little under 12 months ago that the truck maker was looking to build at least one assembly plant in the U.S., promising a 2025 decision on the location.
Han told TT earlier this year that no decision had been made as yet. But Semler said Windrose and Xos could build R700s together in the U.S.
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Xos has a manufacturing facility in Byrdstown, Tenn. The company had another in Mexico, but shut it due to logistics issues, the executive told TT.
“We are evaluating the manufacturing opportunity in the U.S.,” he said. “We’re in the best seat to do that as a dealer because we’re going to be ultimately a big part of their commercialization success in the U.S. And, so, I do think that is something that’s in the cards.”
Alongside its Chinese production, the company is building a manufacturing plant in Valenciennes in northeastern France plus an assembly plant at the port of Antwerp.
The expectations are that Windrose will eventually have assembly plants on each of the major truck-buying continents as well as in Australia, with each producing the same truck.
Meanwhile, charging deals have been struck in the U.S. with Greenlane and Terawatt Infrastructure.
Trucks were also deployed with Chandler, Ariz.-based regional carrier JoyRide Logistics in the summer of 2025.
JoyRide took part in the North American Council for Freight Efficiency’s Messy Middle Run on Less program in September to investigate the powertrain options available to longhaul fleets open to alternatives to diesel, while also offering potential Windrose customers a window on the performance available from the startup manufacturer’s cornerstone product.
Windrose’s backers include banking groups HSBC and Citi plus investment firms Fountainvest, GSR Ventures, HITE Hedge and Goodman Group.
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