In 2021 and again in 2022, we covered Tel Aviv-based REE Automotive’s fully self-contained wheel corner units as a modular approach to building skateboard platforms for various vehicles. Now, at CES 2025, the company showed off the finished product, which is poised to begin shipping from the U.K. to Roush Industries in Michigan for assembly into rolling chassis or chassis-cab configurations, ready for upfitting to customer-specified “top-hat” designs.
What’s Included
REE Automotive talks about shipping a single part-number corner capable of supporting a range of Class 4 or Class 5 trucks (14,001-19,500 pound GVWR). Each corner includes an electric motor, power electronics required to run said motor, 6.77:1 geared reduction drive, control-arm suspension and carrier complete with two coil springs and a damper. Pressed a bit further, REE admitted that covering that range of GVW ratings requires two different sets of springs (color-coded), and that if a customer demanded a two-wheel-drive solution, the corners could be decontented. The most cost-conscious buyers can opt to for an induction motor instead of the standard 134-hp/89-lb-ft permanent-magnet motor.
Fully Software Defined
Each corner is controlled entirely by wire, from acceleration, to braking and steering. The corner can detect the vehicle’s load and adjust vehicle dynamics accordingly. Four-wheel steering obviously comes standard, with a maximum of 30 degrees possible at each axle. Standard programming turns the rear wheels opposite the front at very low speeds, zeroing out rear steer above 25 mph. It’s also possible to steer them in the same direction as the fronts at high speed for more stable lane changes. And although it’s difficult to comprehend the commercial motivation for crab walk capability like that offered by the GMC Hummer EV and Sierra EV, should a customer request it, it would be a simple over-the-air updatable feature.
Just Add Power
Initial production will typically employ three 40-kWh battery modules using lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) chemistry for 120 kWh in total. In most applications, that should be good for about 160 miles of range. Longer wheelbase applications could add a fourth module for 160 kWh.
Reliability Uber Alles
Note the lack of cutting-edge technologies mentioned above. There are emerging in-wheel and axial-flux motor technologies that seem to promise improved corner simplification and packaging advantages. But because commercial customers are laser-focused on maximizing up-time to optimize their return on investment, these concepts will first need to prove themselves in retail use before REE will specify them for the 10-year, 250,000-mile expected lifespan its trucks are expected to withstand.
Where Can You Buy A REE Truck?
REE Automotive has partnered with 80 dealerships across the U.S. where customers can order the desired class and length of P7-C chassis-cab truck, using the cab design Roush is building. Or they can specify a P7-S rolling chassis to fit their own complete top-hat design. There are currently prototype demonstration units in use in California, Washington, Michigan, New York, and Florida. REE claims it has a full order book with purchase orders from customers that include Penske truck leasing, and U-Haul is evaluating the platform for use as its first fully electric offering.
Award-Winning
This year REE Automotive was named a CES 2025 Innovation Award Honoree for Software-Defined Vehicle Technology recognizing the platform’s industry-advancing by-wire technology, modularity and engineering features, which REE intends to deliver to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and fleets during the first half of 2025.
