REE Automotive partners Magna to accelerate modular EV sales

Israel-headquartered REE Automotive (REE), a leading electric mobility company has announced a strategic collaboration agreement with Tier 1 supplier Magna International, with the goal of bringing to market innovative, full-fledged Modular Electric Vehicles (MEVs) for tech companies and new electric mobility players under the ‘Powered by REE’ brand.

The strategic collaboration will explore the combination of REE’s REEcorner technology with Magna’s vehicle systems integration expertise and world-class manufacturing capabilities, to develop MEVs that enable commercial customers to customise vehicles based on their specifications and branding, while accelerating time to market.

Daniel Barel, REE, co-founder and CEO said, “We are thrilled to reach a collaboration agreement with Magna, which should help put us on the fast track to support a broad range of electric vehicles. We see a growing demand for highly modular EVs from leading tech companies and new electric mobility players who have set their sights on entering the EV realm and building a brand in automotive. REE and Magna working together under the ‘Powered by REE’ approach can help bring their vision to life.”

Eric Wilds, chief sales and marketing officer, Magna said: “The evolving mobility landscape is opening new business model opportunities for Magna with our systems capability and unique ability to design, engineer and assemble vehicles. We are excited about our collaboration with REE and our ability to offer another capability to support potential new customers and Mobility-as-a-Service.”

The partners will also explore potential collaboration in global mobility through the creation of a “Mobility-as-a-Service” (MaaS) venture in the light commercial vehicle sector that leverages REE’s proprietary X-by-Wire REEcorner and EV platform technology as well as Magna’s industrial footprint and capabilities.

The Israeli company says the cornerstone of the collaboration is its proprietary REEcorner technology which integrates critical vehicle components into an area between the chassis and the wheel – the ‘corners’ – creating a compact single module where each corner is controlled by REE’s proprietary X-by-Wire control technology. This results in a fully-flat ‘skateboard’ EV platform which offers class-leading space and interior room for passengers, cargo, and batteries.

MEVs utilising REEcorner will have full flexibility to custom-tailor EVs based on a selection of the following:

• EV platform size

• Preferred length, width and vehicle height

• Payload capacities

• Drive and steering based on REE’s X-by-Wire technology (all-wheel, front and rear)

• Battery capacity

• Power source (battery or fuel cell), and more.

REE says its technologies are designed to support the creation of MEVs with maximum payload capacity for transporting passengers and cargo as well as achieving the lowest Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). MEVs are designed with a lower center of gravity than vehicles with the motor located between the wheels, and allow for taller cabins and lower step-in height, yielding more cargo capacity than conventional EV platforms. For example, in a delivery van application, this means MEVs ‘Powered by REE’ could deliver more packages per kWh, further improving operational benefits for customers like tech companies and new e-mobility players.