Magna to help build electric vehicles
Automotive company Magna International Inc. said it will partner with Israel startup REE Automotive Ltd. to build modular electric cars, in a bid to cater to major technology players that are poised to enter the crowded electric vehicle market.
The Aurora, Ont.-based Magna said Monday it will collaborate with Tel Aviv-based REE to jointly build the EVS using REE'S platform, which can be modified to support light commercial vehicles.
“We see a growing demand for highly modular EVS from leading tech companies and new electric mobility players who have set their sights on entering the EV realm and building a brand in automotive,” Daniel Barel, CEO of Tel Aviv-based REE, said in a news release.
The REE platform integrates all of a car's steering and braking components into the wheel mounting points using driveby-wire systems, allowing a skateboard-like REE chassis to be fitted with a passenger compartment of nearly any size or shape. It will be manufactured for third parties under the branding “Powered by REE.”
The companies plan to market the EV platform to tech companies “and new electric mobility companies seeking to develop, operate and utilize new products and services in the commercial EV domain.”
REE also said in the release that the platform could be offered to the “mobility as a service” sector, but did not clarify the details of its plan. REE is backed by several industrial conglomerates, including Japanese companies Mitsubishi Corporation and Hino Motors Ltd. Its website says those companies offer it access to their production lines. In March, REE merged with New Yorkbased 10X Capital Venture Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition vehicle (SPAC), and is expected to list on the Nasdaq stock exchange by the second quarter.
Magna, which has been seen as a potential partner for a self-driving car from Apple Inc., has already made cars under contract for BMW AG and Jaguar Land Rover.
Technology players of the type that Magna and REE say they are targeting have increasingly come to covet the transportation market in recent years, but most have struggled with their product development.