In 1967, White Motor Company started the Western Star division as White Western Star with a new plant at Kelowna, British Columbia, sharing headquarters with White in Cleveland, Ohio. White Western Star trucks in that era typically used cabs from its sister company, Autocar. Western Star production was moved to Ogden, Utah, but it was not included in the 1980 sale of White to Volvo, instead being sold to Bow Valley Resources and Nova Corporation, each owning 50%. In 1991, Western Star Trucks was purchased by the owners of the Western Star Australian subsidiary, Terry Peabody and Bob Shand. In 1996, ERF was purchased. It was sold in 2000 to MAN. In 2000, Western Star was purchased by DaimlerChrysler, becoming part of the Freightliner Trucks division. In 2002, Western Star production was moved to a plant in Portland, Oregon where the headquarters is currently located.
It was first featured in the 18 Wheels of Steel series under the fake name Whiplash. Western Star Trucks was the next truck brand featured after Mack Trucks. The Western Star 49X was added to the game on September 30, 2020, along with the 1.38 update, the Western Star 57X was added to the game on August 2, 2022, along with the 1.45 update, and the Western Star 5700XE was added to the game on January 31, 2022, along with the 1.46 update.
