Israeli Company Has A Neat Trick To Make Electric Cars Affordable For All Of Us

A notion gaining more and more popularity in the electric vehicle industry is that of a standardised undercarriage, which can be used to build any type of vehicle on top of it. A very recent example of this was showcased by electric truck maker ¡®Rivian¡¯,

Now a Tel Aviv based startup by the name of REE Automotive feels that such skateboard platforms are the best way to make EVs mainstream. Co-founder and CEO Daniel Barel says that the company takes the approach of standardised flatbeds farther than ever before.

That is because of the volume and drive controls that REE¡¯s flatbed can accommodate. ¡°We hold the most batteries per footprint than anybody else in the industry," Barel said in an interview with Forbes.

REE Automotive Electric Car Flatbed

Standardised flatbeds are essentially the easier way out for EV makers to produce a range of vehicles on a single platform. REE¡¯s idea integrates the battery, motors and driving controls into the floor in a way that results in independent steering of wheels. Such an arrangement is able to reduce the cost of production of an EV drastically.

So no wonder traditional auto makers were attracted to the idea. Tokyo-based KYB Corp., one of the world¡¯s biggest makers of shock absorbers, recently formed a partnership with REE to develop suspension system for electric vehicles based on REE¡¯s platform. The partnership will result in KYB¡¯s first ever electric vehicle.

Apart from KYB, REE is also working with Mitsubishi Corp., FiatChrysler and Hino, a Toyota-affiliated truckmaker.

There are other advantages that REE¡¯s platform promises. While lowering production cost of a vehicle, the platform will also result in lighter and compact EVs. ¡°We¡¯re not only 33% lighter, but we¡¯re almost 70% smaller in footprint¡± in comparison with Tesla Model 3 having the same interior volume, Barel claims.

REE Electric Car Flatbed (Image: REE)

Since REE is not manufacturing complete EVs on its own, it can radically scale up by providing its already built platform to EV manufacturers. The company has aimed for 2021 to be the year when its platforms hit the roads in different forms of EVs.

More than any other benefit that they claim to have, such platforms can be the ultimate jump-start to the production of EVs in different forms. Lowering the cost of EV production would attract OEMs towards the idea while the lower cost EVs produced would appeal more to the buyers as well.