Daniel Barel, the Chief Executive Officer of REE Automotive, is at the helm of an organization committed to the pursuit of innovative automotive technology. REE’s core invention, the REEcorner™, is poised to reshape the landscape of commercial electric vehicles. With this technology, REE creates fully-flat and modular electric vehicle platforms that allow for considerable flexibility in vehicle design.
In the following Q&A, Barel provides detailed insights into REE’s strategic focus, its unique technology, the value it brings to the market, and the company’s roadmap for the future. This comprehensive discussion offers an intriguing perspective on the work of a company that is shaping the future trajectory of the electric vehicle industry.
Who is REE Automotive and what do you do?
At our core, we are an automotive technology company working to build more efficient commercial electric vehicles. Our foundational technology is called the REEcorner. REEcorners integrate critical vehicle components like steering, braking, suspension, powertrain and control into a single compact module which is located between the chassis and the wheels, and are individually controlled via x-by-wire technology. With this technology, we are able to create fully-flat and modular EV platforms, which are critical enablers to our unique value propositions. Being fully-flat allows for more space for cargo, batteries or people as well as ergonomic advantages from a low-floor. All-wheel drive and all-wheel steer with flexibility in platform dimensions enables superior maneuverability and vehicle function.
So the platform can be customized to fit a top hat of any size, is there a particular class truck that you have seen the most success with?
Right now, we are primarily focused on Class 3-5 with our P7 program, and we see a very strong market pull as this category is perfect for an EV truck, as well as heavily incentivized in the US. The P7 vehicle line-up includes an offering of both chassis cab and stripped chassis and is powered by the REEcorners, x-by-wire technology, and is purpose-built to drive down total cost of ownership (TCO). All vehicles in the P7 program are built for urban environments with market-leading product attributes, including optimal maneuverability, increased cargo volume, low step-in height, aerodynamic design, improved visibility, enhanced NVH properties and increased safety. We are actively taking orders for all the P7 variants, and we are targeting initial deliveries at the end of this year.
What are the different use cases for these configurations of the P7?
We are currently offering stripped chassis and chassis cab configurations of the P7 platform. Our newest configuration – the P7-C chassis cab – was recently announced at the ACT Expo. It is Class 4, which is important to our customers because there are many incentives available on a federal and state level above 14,000 lbs Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. It also meets the market demand for vocational upfits. The high cab roof, low floor platform and available bulkhead door allows for walk-through applications as the driver can stand and move about the cab with ease.
The Class 5 P7-S stripped chassis allows customers to enjoy total flexibility in body design. Whether it’s a rearward cabin for a walk-in van configuration or a forward cabin for a delivery truck.
How is REE structured to provide such an array of customizability?
Essentially, the modular approach of our REEcorners enable maximum commonality between P7 Powered by REE applications, yet can be easily customized for precise applications, for synergies in development costs and timing. Each REEcorner is a standalone module that offers advantages both from technological and economic standpoints, including enhanced maintenance strategies from 1 hour corner swap technology.
Our advanced manufacturing process is also structured to meet customer demand for customizable vehicles. Our first integration center opened last year in Coventry, UK and utilizes significant automated robotic assembly processes that can provide much greater flexibility and scalability than a traditional legacy production line.
Aside from the versatility of the product, why are fleet owners choosing REE?
One of the biggest selling points for us is the low total cost of ownership (TCO), which at the end of the day is one of the most important data points for fleet owners. By only having all of the mechanical elements in one component – the REEcorner – we are designed for serviceability to maximize uptime. The REEcorner can be replaced in under an hour if there are any issues; with a single repair part number, spare part inventories can be simplified and vehicle downtime minimized.
Powered by REE vehicles have been developed with the Voice of the Customer (VOC) in mind. We believe our vehicles demonstrate that transitioning fleets to electric not only offers cost advantages like competitively priced vehicles, but can also give fleet owners and end users operational efficiencies from ergonomic, driver-centric cabins, to maximum payloads and cargo volumes, so more can achieved from a single truck. These advantages could potentially even drive down fleet sizes to further enhance TCO.
The future-proofed design are designed to allow our customers to seamlessly integrate autonomous technology once they are ready to do so. They will not have to go out and replace their fleet when or if they decide to be driverless – we can adjust our vehicles to accommodate.
All of these things bring down the TCO, bringing fleet owners to REE.
What have customers been saying about these vehicles?
We have received significant and encouraging feedback from customers. There is common sentiment that vehicles Powered by REE offer a whole new level of comfort and maneuverability, in addition to its sleek design. The maneuverability was even touted by potential customers when viewed from outside of the vehicle, as customers could clearly see the independent wheel control at all four corners, while the vehicle worked its way through varying routes and obstacles.
While we are very energized by the positive feedback from prospective customers, as a company we are continuing to push the envelope when it comes to our products’ capabilities to address even more pain points of customers, including delivery and logistic operators and e-commerce companies, with safety and performance leading the way.
What is your vision for the company and how do you see things evolving?
Our focus is on our path to certification, making our first deliveries to customers and beginning the ramp up of production.
Reaching the production intent phase is an important step in our product maturity and we plan to execute our production ramp up in two phases.
Our first phase is expected to run through 2024 and include pilot production and assembly, initially from our UK facility. The first pilot vehicles are targeted to start being delivered at the end of this year for customer test fleet evaluations, which we expect to transition into larger orders in the future. We also aim to continue to expand our carefully prioritized dealership network across North America as part of this phase, as we look to add leading dealers who have experience in deploying and selling EVs.
We will aim to kick off Phase 2 of our plan by the end of 2024, continuing into 2025, when we expect to ramp production of vehicles in the US.
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