Electric delivery vehicles have been the unlikely star of CES and that trend continues as REE Automotive used the event to announce it is commencing trials of their all-new P7 platform. The trials will take place in Israel and the United Kingdom, and REE said the first prototypes will be available for customer evaluation in the first quarter.
Designed to meet the “functional and
operational specifications from one of the world’s largest delivery companies,”
the P7 platform is slated to underpin commercial delivery vehicles and walk-in
vans. Given its intended purpose, the platform is fully flat and this enables
the electric architecture to provide the “greatest interior space and
volumetric efficiency for vehicles in classes 3-5.”
Speaking of practicality, the P7 platform
supports a maximum payload of up to 3,992 kg and this enables it to
hold up to 35% more packages than comparable commercial vehicles. The platform
can also be used on buses, which can carry up to 30 passengers. The P7 platform
is modular, highly flexible and has been designed to “radically simplify
development times of electric commercial models and is optimized for fleet
owners looking to create their own commercial vehicle brand, unique design and
market differentiation.” In particular, the platform allows for lengths of 6.2-7.6 meters, widths of 1.6-2.4 meters, and
heights of 2.0-3.0 meters.
The flexibility doesn’t end there as the
platform can be equipped with front, rear or all-wheel drive as well as front
or all-wheel steering. The architecture also supports battery packs with
capacities up to 120 kWh and this will allow for ranges of up to 595
km. In terms of performance, there are up to four electric motors which each
develop up to 134 hp. The top speed isn’t anything special at 129 km/h, but we’re talking about delivery vehicles after all.
