REE Automotive Ltd (REE) announced a strategic collaboration agreement with Magna International to bring to market 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 (earlier post) with Magna’s vehicle systems integration expertise and world-class manufacturing capabilities, to develop MEVs that enable commercial customers to customize vehicles based on their specifications and branding, while accelerating time to market.

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

The cornerstone of the collaboration is REE’s 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 the only fully-flat “skateboard” EV platform offering unprecedented space and interior room for passengers, cargo, and batteries.

MEVs utilizing 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’s 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 such as tech companies and new e-mobility players.