Electric truck manufacturer Windrose has set out early plans for its UK market entry, working with HORIBA MIRA on engineering and manufacturing development while partnering with Voltempo on high-power charging infrastructure.

The Chinese-founded OEM is positioning the UK as a priority market as it expands its global footprint. Chief executive Wen Han describes the decision in straightforward terms. “You simply look at the world’s top countries by GDP… the UK ranks number six,” he says in an interview with Motor Transport published this week (see p28-30).

Windrose is collaborating with HORIBA MIRA to support UK type approval, validation and the development of a local operational footprint. That work is expected to underpin any future assembly activity, as the company looks to establish a European presence that goes beyond simple vehicle importation.

Alongside this, Windrose has been working with UK-based Voltempo to demonstrate megawatt-scale charging capability for long-haul electric trucks. The company recently brought a demonstration vehicle into the UK to test performance across emerging high-power charging sites. “We’re going to test at high-powered truck charging sites in the UK,” Han says. “We go all in. We don’t dabble.”

Windrose’s wider European strategy centres on a different model of industrial presence, combining engineering, assembly and aftersales capability within a single footprint. “This is not going to be a traditional manufacturing site,” Han says explaining the company is developing sites in Belgium and France. “It’s an R&D office, a charging site… assembly and aftermarket work. We blur the line between assembly and aftersales.”

In the UK, that approach is now beginning to take shape through its relationships with MIRA and Voltempo, as the company moves from initial demonstrations towards a more established market position.