Watch this electric semi truck drive a load nearly 600 miles [video]

Battery electric semi trucks continue to prove their worth every day in port and regional route service across America — but many US truckers still believe that EVs aren’t ready for long-haul runs. The good news is that the facts don’t care what you believe, and Windrose’ latest, all-electric 578-mile route validation (with a fully loaded trailer) across the I-10 corridor is making the doubters look like dummies!

We last spoke to Windrose founder Wen Han back in April at the ACT Expo in Anaheim, California, where the Shell-sponsored NACFE group was promoting the idea of “the messy middle” as, in my interpretation, an excuse for fleets to hold off on buying electric — if only for one more asset replacement cycle.

Not everyone agrees with the oil-backed efficiency group’s take on things, however, and those fleets who are willing to take a look at the battery-electric options available now, today, in the US, and in customers’ hands are going to find immensely capable electric semi truck options.

One of those electric semi truck options, the Windrose R700 shown here, features efficient, aerodynamic bodywork, a competitive price tag, and a sleeper configuration. And if the company’s I-10 route validation video (below) proves anything, it’s that R700 operators will be able to put those sleepers to good use on 300+ mile runs. (!)

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Windrose electric semi 578 mile round-trip

In the video, the Windrose R700’s 729 kWh li-ion batteries were tasking with hauling a 75,000 lb. combined load (max. allowed combined vehicle and trailer weight for a BEV is 82,000 lbs.) 289 miles each way between Colton, California and Buckeye, Arizona across the critical I-10 freight corridor that runs coast-to-coast from California to Florida. And, with its 1,045 hp electric motors, I’m sure the R700 did so with very little strain on the uphill portions!

“From long-haul highway conditions to charging stops and elevation changes, the Windrose truck handled every mile with zero emissions and total confidence,” reads the official copy. “This is more than a test — it’s proof that electric freight is ready for the real world.”

Between 2023 and 2024, Windrose and Rongqing Logistics jointly completed tens of thousands of miles of real-world testing on a 1,456 km (over 900 miles) route between Shanghai to Guangzhou. The R700 electric semi required just two charging stops to complete the run, demonstrating impressive capabilities. And, with an 800V high-voltage platform capable of megawatt-level dual-inlet charging, it can even “fill up” in less time than it typically to power down lunch.

Electrek’s Take

It’s great to see the electric semi truck market filling up to with options — and seeing those options get put to work in real-world heavy haul applications, as opposed to the easy-to-criticize potato chip hauling performances we’ve seen from that other brand in the recent past. As Windrose ramps up production, PACCAR Kenworth expands its offerings, Mack joins the fray, and Volvo’s deployed electric truck fleet knocks on the door of 100 million miles driven, it’s hard to believe that other will be able to catch up (regardless of what Trump decides to do to them).

SOURCE | IMAGES: Windrose; via Clean Trucking, CTrucks Review.

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