China company completes 1500 km road test of Tesla Semi inspired electric truck

Electric truck maker Windrose has posted a time-lapse video showing a 1593 km test run completed by its all-electric semi truck.

The electric semi gets 600 km range out of its 729 kWh battery pack and can pull a whopping 49 tonnes.

Windrose chairman and CEO Wen Han was recently interviewed about the new zero emission truck.

“In China and in the US somewhere between 8-15% of all GDP goes to transportation,” says Wen. “About 8% of Chinese economy is using trucks and heavy duty trucks are the majority.”

Han says currently around one third of the cost of truck freight goes to paying for diesel so the switch to cheap electricity has the potential to dramatically reduce the cost of road freight.

The company recently completed a series of tests including operating the truck at high altitudes and in 47 degree celsius heat.

Australians may also be starting to see electric trucks here very soon after Melbourne based startup NewVolt launched its plans to build an electric truck charging network along the east coast of Australia enabling the decarbonisation of the country’s major road freight routes and potentially saving billions of dollars spent on imported diesel a year.

NewVolt is partnering with truck manufacturers to offer long term contracts with fixed charging fees to give trucking operators the confidence to make the switch and start reaping the benefits.

The company plans to have its first truck charging station up and running in Melbourne in 2025, followed by another 14 sites in key precincts in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and the Hume Highway from 2027, and then a 40 site metropolitan expansion, with the Pacific, Newell, Sturt & Western Highway connections anticipated from 2030.