Etrucks advances Windrose electric truck testing

Auckland-based distributor Etrucks is continuing to work with Chinese electric heavy-duty truck developer Windrose Technology to be the first to introduce long-range electric trucks into New Zealand.

Etrucks director Ross Linton has reported back from a recent trip to Hefei where he conducted more testing of the Windrose E1400 6×4 semi-truck which is due to land in the country this month as previously reported in TransportTalk.

Linton reports operating the electric truck at a “steady” 80km/h loaded to 49 tonnes GVM which used 109kWh of battery to travel 104km on the test track.

“That is 1.05kWh per kilometre which indicates a duration of 624km with 10% battery remaining. Very impressive,” he says.

“Yep we were loaded, not that you noticed much with 1400hp available.”

The Windrose will exhibit at the upcoming IAA Transportation 2024 event taking place in Hannover, Germany from September 17-22. Etrucks will be on site at the event from September 19-20.

Customer trials of the Windrose E1400 are currently taking place including a Shanghai to Nanjing round trip for German electrical enclosure manufacturer Rittal. Asia-base global 3PL Kerry Logistics has also carried out testing of the trucks.

Etrucks has placed an initial order with Windrose Technology for 20 units. The first sample of the Windrose E1400 6×4 semi-truck will arrive here in September for extended local testing and production orders will be accepted from mid 2025.

Linton says the truck’s range and performance opens up the possibility of zero-emission freight journeys from Auckland to Wellington with minimal charging.