Electric and autonomous delivery vehicles built on Israeli company Ree’s P7 platforms will be able to achieve driving ranges of up to 600km with top speeds of 120km/h.

The company announced at last week’s CES in Las Vegas that it is commencing trials of the all-new P7 platform designed for commercial delivery vehicles and walk-in vans. The platform, targeted at a US-based delivery van programme, was designed based on functional and operational specifications from one of the world’s largest delivery companies.

Fully flat from end-to-end, the P7 has more interior space and volumetric efficiency for vehicles in classes three to five.

Supporting up to 3900kg maximum payload, the platform packs up to 35% more packages than comparable commercial vehicles or the equivalent and can comfortably carry up to 30 passengers, making it suitable for target markets such as delivery and logistic fleet owners, transit authorities, school buses, and mobility operators.

Ree Corner and x-by-wire technology allows each wheel to move independently for enhanced driving dynamics and safety with all-wheel steer, drive and brake options.

The Ree Corner technology packs critical vehicle components – steering, braking, suspension, powertrain and control – into a single compact module positioned between the chassis and the wheel, enabling Ree to build flatter EV platforms with more room for passengers, cargo and batteries. X-by-wire technology is used to control each of the corners of the vehicles with full drive-by-wire, brake-by-wire and steer-by-wire.

The modular platform is designed to simplify development times of electric commercial models and is optimised for fleet owners looking to create their own commercial vehicle brand, unique design and market differentiation using the Ree configuration and low TCO due to battery-as-a-service, data-as-a-service and fast Ree Corner swap. On the path to production, last year Ree nominated suppliers American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM) to supply electric drive units and Brembo to co-develop and supply the braking system.

“The P7 platform is paramount in commercial vehicle design, safety and functionality,” said Daniel Barel, Ree Automotive CEO. “True to our vision of providing complete modularity and versatility, this platform can be configured in different sizes and optimised to suit a particular application and use case. The P7 will utilise Ree-Hitachi’s data- and application-as-a-service capabilities of injecting intelligence and actionable insight info fleet operations and affording fleet owners complete visibility over their operations, allowing faster time to market, lower total ownership costs and suite of lifecycle services.”

Core design commonalities in the P7 architecture are designed to provide significant development synergies for additional future Ree Corner models across vehicle classes. This architecture approach affords both cost and timing benefits through the development process, as well as further production efficiencies from the resultant economies of scale.

Electric and autonomous vehicles built on the P7 platforms will be able to achieve driving ranges of up to 600km with maximum speeds of 120km/hr and supporting gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWR) of up to 7500kg.

Headquartered in Herzliya, Israel, Ree has an engineering centre in the UK, as well as subsidiaries worldwide including in Japan and Germany, and plans to open its US headquarters and first integration centre in Austin, Texas.