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- REE Automotive has developed EV chassis that combine powertrain, steering, suspension and braking in one sleek platform.
- The platforms are scalable and modular in design, suitable for vehicles with all bodies and different sizes and weight classes.
- REE Automotive will establish a US headquarters in Austin, Texas, which is already a technology center, to work with partners in the US.
You may never have heard of REE Automotive unless you’ve been following electric cars for a while, but a recent development should make the company a household name, at least in EV homes. The e-mobility company – which closed a $ 500 million financing round earlier this year and was listed on Nasdaq days ago – plans to open a U.S. headquarters in Austin, Texas, in addition to an assembly facility.
REE Automotive, based in Tel-Aviv, Israel, has managed to stay out of consumer-facing EV news as its technology has been primarily targeted at other manufacturers, with its role centered on that of a developer and supplier. The proposed establishment of a US facility should get him more exposure and land in a city that is quickly becoming a technology center for electric vehicles.
In the EV industry and start-up world, REE is arguably best known for skateboard platforms, with the company’s calling card being the slimmest EV platform in the industry. The platform, known as the REEcorner, packs the powertrain, steering, suspension, and braking components into the wheel arch, providing other automakers with a ready-made architecture on which to mount many different types of vehicle bodies. The compact module between the chassis and the wheel is therefore scalable and modular – which the company describes as “agnostic” in terms of the design and size of the final vehicle.
The proposed Austin facility will include an integration center that will offer REE’s technology to future and current partners in North America, including Magna International, to enable prototyping.
REE has developed platforms of different sizes that are compatible with vehicles in different weight classes.
REE Automotive
“The establishment of our US headquarters in Austin, Texas offers us the best position for growth and rapid expansion,” said Daniel Barel, Co-Founder and CEO of REE. “Austin is fast becoming a global home for elite tech professionals. REE must continue to grow and thrive, and Austin’s dynamism and entrepreneurship definitely align with REE’s culture and values.”
REE is far from the only EV developer focused on skateboarding platforms, as Bollinger has developed its own EV platform that can be used by other automakers alongside trucks of its own design. Another was developed by the Watt Electric Vehicle Company in the UK and is aimed at low volume manufacturers. The real promise of size for skateboard platforms, however, are large-scale orders from logistics giants who can assemble bespoke bodies onto the platforms.
In a way, the concept of one manufacturer building the platforms and another building the bodies goes back to the early days of the automobile when buyers bought a chassis from an automaker and then hired a body builder to build a body to order. In this day and age, we’re much more likely to see mass production on skateboard EV platforms, but the two manufacturers’ approach would remain unchanged.
“REE’s integration centers will be designed to be completely modular and scalable to ensure that the company will meet projected production levels,” said Michael Charlton, COO of REE. “The state-of-the-art centers will use automation, including Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), for the optimal movement of assemblies, with the aim of increasing the level of automation to Industry 4.0 technology and beyond.”
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