REE Automotive to hold customer tests of electric van in Detroit
17/05/2022 11:30
By Nick Carey
LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) - REE Automotive REE.O , which
develops rolling chassis for commercial electric vehicles (EVs),
said on Tuesday that it will start customer tests of its
electric walk-in van in Detroit this summer to take orders for
2023 deliveries.
The Israeli startup said the EV, built using a body designed
by EAVX, a unit of U.S. commercial vehicle body maker JP
Poindexter & Co., is built on its P7 platform.
CEO Daniel Barel told Reuters it was important for potential
customers and partners such as UPS UPS.N , with which REE
Automotive has been working since 2019, to test working models.
"For customers to order vehicles in magnitude, they have to
try it out," Barel said. "Especially if it's a new technology
that nobody else has, nobody will sign an order before they've
driven it."
Instead of traditional axles, REE's electric vehicle
platform runs using four separate wheels - with their own
steering, braking, suspension, powertrain and control - that
allow its vehicles to have flatter bottoms, providing more room
for cargo.
The P7 platform is intended to power EVs with payloads of up
to 8,800 pounds (3,992 kg), with a range of 370 miles (595 km).
The startup is building a highly-automated assembly plant in
Coventry in the United Kingdom this year, followed by one in
Austin, Texas, in 2023. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2X70AR
As traditional automakers prepare to churn out electric vans
and trucks, startups are more focused than ever on finding a
competitive or technological edge. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2U40IG
(Reporting by Nick Carey; editing by Jason Neely)
((nick.carey@thomsonreuters.com; +44 7385 414 954;))