REE Automotive

Electric vehicle manufacturer
.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}

REE Automotive, Ltd. is a commercial electric vehicle developer and manufacturer. The company is based in Glil Yam, Israel. It operates a development and manufacturing center in Coventry, United Kingdom, and expects a manufacturing center in Greater Austin, Texas to be operational in 2023.

The company’s business model is horizontal, sourcing components of its vehicles from its tier-one automotive manufacturing partners, allowing the company to benefit from its partners’ existing manufacturing capacity. The company expects its first production vehicles to be ready for mass manufacturing by the end of 2023. The vehicles, P7-B box truck and Proxima delivery van, are based on the company’s P7 electric vehicle platform for class 3–5 trucks.

The company’s electric vehicle platform features four independent interchangeable corner modules, dubbed REECorners, each one housing a motor, transmission, inverter, steering actuators, suspension, and brakes. The corner modules are controlled electronically, by-wire, with no mechanical connections, allowing for a completely flat platform chassis onto which custom chassis bodies can be attached.

Founding[edit]

SoftWheel[edit]

Before changing its name to REE Automotive, the company was called SoftWheel.[2] SoftWheel was founded in 2011 by Gilad Woolf. Woolf engaged the services of Amihai Gros and the services of Ahishai Sardes of Ziv Av Engineering, who developed a wheelchair wheel with an embedded suspension system.[3] Daniel Barel joined as CEO in 2013.[4] In 2014 SoftWheel raised three million dollars in an effort to enter the electric bicycle market with its in-wheel selective suspension system, which is stiff while riding on level surfaces, and becomes shock-absorbent upon impacts.[3][5][6]

Shift to the automotive industry[edit]

Faced with its investors potentially pulling funding and shutting down the company by 2016, SoftWheel began developing in-wheel shock absorbers for bicycles, motorcycles, and automobiles.[7] By mid-2017, the company planned to manufacture products for bicycles and develop a product for automobiles, raising a total of 15 million USD, with plans for two more assembly lines in addition to its existing ones for wheelchair wheels in Israel and the United States.[8] The company raised an additional $25 million in 2018 in an effort to pivot its business to the automotive market,[9] for a total of $40 million, partly from investors in the automotive industry such as Mitsubishi and Musashi Seimitsu.[9][10]

Daniel Barel announced the company’s new name, REE, at the EcoMotion convention in June 2019, where he unveiled an automotive platform for autonomous delivery vehicles.[11] The name-change signifies “reinventing” the car by discarding the mechanical connections between the wheels in favor of electronic by-wire control.[11]

Financing[edit]

The company expected to raise 436 million USD through a special-purpose acquisition company merger with 10X Capital Venture Acquisition Corp, of which $200 million were expected from 10X Capital investors. Three-quarters of the 10X Capital shares were redeemed by investors upon the merger, reducing the raised capital by about $153 million.[12] A total of $285 million were raised by the company when going public on NASDAQ on July 23, 2021, resulting in about $318 million in cash on-hand, and a valuation of about three billion dollars.[13] The CEO said that while vertical automotive companies require 20 billion dollars or more to develop their supply chain and manufacturing capabilities, the company is set to achieve large-scale manufacturing and commercialization of its first product line through its horizontal business alliances using its $300 million in cash.[14]

Following the merger, REE Automotive’s valuation dropped significantly, reaching about $100 million in early 2023.[15] The company had no significant revenue by February 2023, when it fired 31 employees which were approximately 11% of its workforce.[16] The company expects to begin production in 2023.[14]

Business model[edit]

REE Automotive is structured for a CAPEX-light business model with horizontal alliances with tier-one manufacturers.[14] Among its partners are American Axle, Mahindra & Mahindra, Musashi Seimitsu, and KYB.[17] The company says its partners’ existing manufacturing capacity allows it to quickly scale up production, using parts from its partners which are then assembled onto its modules and platform at the company’s manufacturing facilities.[18] The company aims to provide, along with its partners, “a full turn-key solution” for electric vehicle fleets, which includes the sale of full vehicles, and services such as vehicle financing and charging infrastructure. These services are meant to allow companies’ fleets to transition from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles.[19]

Competition[edit]

Small commercial electric vehicle startups like REE Automotive attempted to fill the void in commercial EV offerings left by traditional automotive manufacturers in the late 2010s. The startup companies expected to beat the traditional manufacturers to market, or partner with them, or be acquired by them. The traditional manufacturers have since started to fill the commercial EV void, bringing the small manufacturers into direct competition with them and leading to difficulties in raising funding and generating sales to large customers.[20][21] This put small manufacturers like Arrival, Canoo, Lordstown, and ELMS in financial difficulties. REE Automotive hopes to overcome these issues with its P7 offerings and its horizontal business model.[22][21]

Technology[edit]

Corner modules[edit]

The core technology developed by REE Automotive is the corner module. These modules are located directly adjacent to each wheel, housing all of the vehicle’s drive systems. The modules are controlled by-wire, eliminating the use of mechanical connections that are traditionally housed throughout the chassis, like a steering column, drivetrain, and so on. This design allows for a flat platform chassis with more space for passengers or cargo, and easy replacement of each module.[11]

Prior to its initial fundraising on the stock market, the company developed five classes of corner modules for different vehicle classes up to 7 tonnes gross vehicle weight.[23] Following its fundraising shortfall, the company focused on developing and bringing a single product line to market,[14] based on the P7 corner module for up to 8.9 tonnes gross vehicle weight.

Each P7 corner module houses the following: a drive unit co-developed with American Axle consisting of an electric motor with regenerative braking, a transmission, and an inverter; steering actuators developed by Trio; double wishbone suspension with twin dampers; brakes and braking actuators co-developed with Brembo; sensors; and an electronic control unit (ECU) based on Infineon AURIX running REE Automotive software that manages all the systems. A P7 platform includes four corner modules that are controlled in tandem by a central ECU.[24][25]

Safety and security[edit]

Redundancy is implemented at the vehicle level and at the component level for fail-operational safety and fault detection. At the vehicle level, the central ECU can compensate for the failure of a corner module or one of its components by using the other three modules for corrective steering, braking, and propulsion. At the component level, many have built-in redundancy: the central ECU and each corner module ECU features two Infineon AURIX microcontrollers operating in a lockstep configuration, allowing for fault-detection; the ECUs are powered by redundant low-voltage batteries connected to redundant low-voltage power grids; there are redundant microcontroller communication networks; there are redundant medium voltage sources that power redundant steering actuators for each wheel; there are redundant sensors; and so on. These safety features are specified by the ISO 26262 standard level D. Vehicle cybersecurity is specified by the ISO/SAE 21434 standard and UNCE regulations 155, 156, and 157, and implemented using dedicated cryptographic modules that encrypt all communication between the ECUs and the drive system components.[26][27]

Prototypes and concept cars[edit]

REE Automotive presented its first public prototype at the EcoMotion convention in June 2019.[11] Early prototypes shown in 2019 were dubbed the Air, Share, and Bolder. The prototypes offered two or four wheel-end motors with varying power ratings, attached to flat chassis platforms of varying sizes. Later, similar prototypes were dubbed the P1, P2, and P4. They were designed for 1.3, 2.5, and 4.5 tonne gross vehicle weight, respectively. All the prototypes were autonomous-ready, driven entirely electronically, by-wire.[28]

The Hino Flatformer employs the flat REE platform chassis[29] but no corner modules. Pictured with an interchangeable upper body with package delivery cubbies.[30]

An autonomous modular concept vehicle, dubbed Flatformer, was co-developed by REE Automotive and Hino Motors and displayed at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show.[29] The Flatformer features a flat chassis platform that can have different chassis bodies interchanged autonomously on top of it, such as a body with package delivery cubbies, a body providing retail services, and a body for shuttling passengers.[30]

Autonomous vehicle developer Navya announced in April 2021 it partnered with REE for development of level 4 autonomous vehicles.[28] A concept vehicle for autonomous last-mile delivery, dubbed Leopard, was on display at CES 2022.[31] An autonomous passenger shuttle prototype at Belfast Harbour, dubbed Harlander, is expected to begin shuttling passengers in late 2024.[32]

Production[edit]

REE Automotive showcased its first prototype production corner module at CES 2022.[31] Five months later, Morgan Olson demonstrated its Proxima delivery van, a class 5 truck powered by the P7 module and platform, planned for production at scale.[33][34] Two months later, the company demonstrated a P7-based class 3 box truck, dubbed the P7-B, which is expected to begin production in 2023.[35]

The prototype corner modules and chassis underwent road tests and durability testing, leading to production-intent prototypes suitable for 350,000 kilometres (220,000 mi) of service life.[24] Company representatives presented a production-intent P7 corner module in March 2023 at Work Truck Week, saying the module is fastened to the platform on a single plane entirely from the side of the vehicle, with no special tools.[36] The platform’s four corner modules are interchangeable, simplifying manufacturing and maintenance. A module may be removed and a new module fastened to the platform in 20 minutes, with a further 40 minutes of calibration for the vehicle to become operational again.[37]

Twenty-five production-intent test vehicles have been manufactured for validation and certification, and the P7 assembly line was fully built-out by March 2023.[38] The assembly line is divided into automated and manual stations, with the corner modules being carried from one station to the next on autonomous robots. The assembled modules are then attached to a platform chassis, and finally a chassis body is attached. The company’s first manufacturing facility was established in 2022 in Coventry, United Kingdom.[18] Another manufacturing facility, in Greater Austin, Texas, is expected to be operational in 2023. Each facility is designed to initially produce up to 10,000 vehicles a year[39] with a single daily work shift.[37]

References[edit]

.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%;margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}

^ .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:”””””””‘””‘”}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url(“//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg”)right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url(“//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg”)right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url(“//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg”)right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url(“//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg”)right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#3a3;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}FORM 20-F For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 REE Automotive Ltd., U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

^ FORM F-4, REE Automotive LTD, March 10, 2021

^ a b “להמציא את הגלגל מחדש”, GlobesTV, July 6, 2014

^ דפנה ברמלי-גולן (December 3, 2015), “כמה הזדמנויות אתה באמת מקבל לשנות את העולם?”, Globes

^ Abigail Klein Leichman (March 18, 2014), “Leave it to Israelis to reinvent the wheel”, Israel21c

^ Sharon Udasin (February 11, 2014), “Israeli startup reinvents the wheel”, The Jerusalem Post

^ Paul A. Eisenstein (May 24, 2016), “Here’s Why the Global Automobile Industry Is Turning to … Israel?”, NBC News

^ טלי ציפורי (May 4, 2017), “סופטוויל שפיתחה בולמי זעזועים לגלגלים גייסה 10 מ’ דולר”, Globes

^ a b Orbach, Meir (August 20, 2018), “SoftWheel Raises $25 Million to Reinvent the Wheel”, CTECH, retrieved June 23, 2021

^ Omer Kabir (February 21, 2019), “In Ten Years, 30% of Cars Will Be Electric, Says SoftWheel Vice President”, CTECH

^ a b c d Brian Blum (September 9, 2019), “Israeli startup is totally reinventing how cars are built”, Israel21c

^ יעקב צלאל (July 31, 2021), “רי אוטומוטיב / המשקיעים מכרו מניית הספאק, שווי החברה נחתך ב-50%”, AutoNews.co.il

^ REE Automotive (August 20, 2021), FORM F-1

^ a b c d שירי חביב ולדהורן (December 28, 2021), “מנכ”ל REE לא מתרגש מנפילת המניה: “אנחנו פה לטווח ארוך, נהיה השחקן אולי הכי גדול בשוק הרכב””, Globes

^ Almog Azar (January 11, 2023), “Did REE hide a $5.2 billion lawsuit from its shareholders?”, CTECH

^ איתי פת-יה (February 9, 2023), “חברת REE הישראלית מפטרת 31 עובדים – 11% מכוח האדם שלה”, TheMarker

^ “REE Automotive opens UK engineering centre”, Automotive Manufacturing Solutions, February 16, 2021

^ a b “REE Plans Integrated Assembly Strategy”, Assembly Magazine, July 7, 2022

^ REE Automotive (May 17, 2022), First Quarter 2022 Financial Results

^ תומר הדר (August 23, 2022), “הענקיות התעוררו, והיצרניות הקטנות של רכבים מסחריים חשמליים בצרות”, כלכליסט

^ a b Nick Carey; Lisa Baertlein; Ben Klayman (August 9, 2022), “Burning cash, commercial EV startups race to deliver vehicles”, Reuters

^ תומר הדר (August 11, 2022), “האם זה מה שיציל את המניה? REE חושפת אב טיפוס לרכב משלוחים”, כלכליסט

^ Brittany Chang (November 20, 2020), “This modular EV vehicle platform can shift into endless types of vehicles from trucks to tiny delivery vehicles — see how it works”, Business Insider

^ a b Roger Atkins (October 11, 2022), “REE UK – EV Innovators”, YouTube

^ Trio Motion Technology (November 29, 2022), “Independent steering control system”, Controls, Drives, & Automation

^ Craig Cole (January 24, 2023), “REE Automotive has the EV chassis market ‘cornered’ thanks to its innovative drivetrain tech”, EV Pulse

^ Scheibert, K., Kostarigka, A., Dannebaum, U., Ambekar, A. et al., “Challenges with the Introduction of X-By-Wire Technologies to Passenger Vehicles and Light Trucks in regards to Functional Safety, Cybersecurity and Availability,” SAE Technical Paper 2023-01-0581, 2023, doi: 10.4271/2023-01-0581.

^ a b Sagar Parikh (May 6, 2021), “Israel’s REE not considering passenger electric cars before 2025”, ElectricVehicleWeb

^ a b Greg Gardner (April 27, 2021), “Hino Motors, Ree Automotive Partner To Bring New Technologies To Commercial Vehicles”, Forbes

^ a b Top Gear Philippines (October 29, 2019), “Feature: The Hino FlatFormer Concept is the future of delivery and service”, YouTube

^ a b Frank Markus (January 27, 2022), “3 Cool New Electric Motor Technologies From CES 2022”, MotorTrend

^ Louise Cullen (February 1, 2023), “Driverless bus coming to Belfast Harbour Estate”, BBC News

^ Scooter Doll (July 25, 2022), “EAVX, Morgan Olson, and REE Automotive share live demonstrations of Proxima electric van”, electrek

^ Alan Adler (July 29, 2022), “Truck Tech: Cutting corners edition”, FreightWaves

^ Scooter Doll (August 11, 2022), “REE Automotive unveils Class 3 box truck powered by its P7 electric chassis and REEcorners”, elektrek

^ Mike Oakes (March 14, 2023), “REEvisiting with REE Automotive plus the Rebadged Mullen Class 3 truck – Work Truck Week”, Munro Live

^ a b Craig Cole (March 11, 2023), “REE’s Modular EV Chassis Could Corner the Market – 2023 Work Truck Week”, EV Pulse

^ REE Automotive (March 16, 2023), 4Q22 Shareholders Letter

^ Justin Sayers (May 16, 2022), “REE Automotive’s UK electric vehicle factory offers glimpse of what it’ll do in Pflugerville”, Austin Business Journal

.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-image,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-list{border-top:2px solid #fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title{background-color:#ccf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}Motorsport

Advanced Engine Research
Alpine F1 Team
AMR GP Limited
Arena Motorsport
Carlin
Chevron Cars
Cosworth
Driftworks
Engine Developments
Ford World Rally Team
Fortec
Gibson Technology
Hewland
Kahn Design
Ilmor
Lola Cars
McLaren
Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains
Mercedes AMG
M-Sport
Munchi’s
Prodrive
Radical
Red Bull Racing
RML Group
Roger Dowson Engineering
Sumo Power
Team Dynamics
Triple Eight Racing
Van Diemen
Williams
Wirth
Xtrac

Passenger car
producersSuppliers and
consultanciesDealerships

Arnold Clark
Carcraft
Ford Retail Group
Group 1 Automotive
Inchcape
Jardine
JCT600
Lookers
H.R. Owen
- Jack Barclay Bentley
Pendragon
Perrys
Robins & Day
Stoneacre
Sytner
Vertu

Other services

ATS Euromaster
Autoglass
Auto Windscreens
BCA Marketplace
British Car Auctions
British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association
Green Flag
Halfords Autocentre
Halfords
HiQ (tyres)
Kwik Fit
LeasePlan
Lex Autolease
Millbrook Proving Ground
National Tyres and Autocare
RAC
The AA
We Buy Any Car

Government and
regulatory bodies

Automotive Council UK
Department for Transport
Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency
Driving Standards Agency
Vehicle Certification Agency
Vehicle & Operator Services Agency

REE Automotive