Chinese e-truck builder wants to build a factory in Antwerp: “Totally different concept than European truck”

It was already in November 2017 that Tesla CEO Elon Musk presented the prototype of the Semi. The truck stood out because of its electric drive, the aerodynamic cabin, the central seat for the driver and the technological gadgets. Large companies immediately paid large amounts for large orders. UPS wanted 125, PepsiCo 100. 6.5 years later, 36 had been delivered to PepsiCo, and zero to UPS.

The Chinese company Windrose has only existed since 2022, but everything moves much faster there. The truck of the same name has already done test drives in the Netherlands and for Decathlon in France. And when it announced the sponsorship agreement with the Giants in Antwerp, CEO Wen Han single-handedly drove one into the Sportpaleis. Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever (N-VA) also took his place behind the wheel.

“Not a copy, so to speak”

The similarities with the Tesla Semi are striking. “The steering wheel in the middle, the aerodynamic cabin… But it is not a copy, so to speak,” says editor-in-chief Claude Yvens of the trade magazine Transportmedia, which has already been able to inspect the Windrose twice. “The truck has a completely different concept than European trucks. But it drives, it is high-tech and has a very good driving range of 600 kilometers.”

Windrose sees things big. CEO Wen Han studied in America and recruited experienced advisors from Coca-Cola, Decathlon and Volvo parent company Geely for his board of directors. And now he has his eye on Belgium. It announces that it is setting up a new ‘European headquarters’ and its first workshop in Zele, on the grounds of transport company Gilbert De Clercq.

“The truck has a completely different concept than European trucks. But it drives, it is high-tech and has a very good driving range of 600 kilometers.”

Claude Yvens

Editor-in-chief of trade magazine ‘Transportmedia’

“This lays the foundation for future expansion,” says CEO Wen Han in the business newspaper The time. “The next phase consists of the move of our activities to an industrial site in the Antwerp port area, with the research and development activities and the assembly plant.”

Factory in Antwerp?

Ten thousand trucks per year by 2027, good for 3,000 jobs: that is Han’s plan in the port of Antwerp. “But let’s wait until the factory is actually there,” says Claude Yvens. “Windrose is the new kid on the block and there have been big plans before that ultimately came to nothing. Many new players have been announced and many have gone bankrupt.”

“Starting up a production unit costs a lot of money and the question is how quickly Windrose can generate sufficient cash. I also don’t rule out that the company may announce similar plans in other countries at this stage to pit them against each other. Such companies often do that and that is good entrepreneurship.”

Port as an asset

Windrose’s plans appear to be at odds with the trend in Belgium. There were the closures of Renault Vilvoorde, Ford Genk, Opel Antwerp, … This year, Belgian production at Van Hool stopped and dark clouds also hang over Audi Brussels. “Many Belgian car factories have closed, but with Volvo Trucks in Ghent and DAF in Olen, there are thriving truck factories where investments are still being made,” says Yvens.

The choice for Antwerp is not illogical in itself: the majority of production would take place in China, only the assembly is for European territory. And then you like to be close to a port. It is no coincidence that Westrose also has an office in the port city of Rotterdam and carries out test drives in the port city of Dunkirk.

Tesla also once had plans for a factory in Antwerp. Musk then visited De Wever, the Flemish Prime Minister and even the King. The European assembly plant is now… in Berlin.

Good truck

The truck itself is quite promising. “It is apparently super flexible and super comfortable,” says Yvens. “The protoType is not yet 100 percent compatible for Europe, but these are usually detailed points that can be arranged fairly quickly. The challenge is still that long nose. Then with a standard trailer it could be too long for European regulations and too long to be able to turn on our roundabouts.”

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“At 260,000 euros, it is below the price of its European competitors, but the difference is not very big. And transport companies will only act if they trust that the manufacturer will still exist in a few years and can provide maintenance.”