Drivers of a new electric truck on sale in the US are putting their faith in drive-by-wire tech like never before – the REE P7-C is believed to be the first commercially available vehicle in the world to operate without any traditional mechanical linkages at all between the driver and its control systems.
Deliveries of the first vehicles are already underway to customers, says the manufacturer REE, which claims to be the first to offer a fully-certified steer-by-wire, brake-by-wire and drive-by wire vehicle. The P7 uses the company’s REEcorner tech, which packs all the critical vehicle componentry for braking, steering, suspension and powertrain into a compact module in-between the chassis and road wheels.
By using four modules – one at each corner – the company says it eliminates any need for mechanical connections, in an approach that allows vehicle designers to build electric vehicles in multiple shapes and sizes on a modular platform.
“Using four identical REEcorners enables REE to make the industry’s flattest EV platforms with more room for passengers, cargo and batteries. REE platforms are future proofed, autonomous capable, offer a low TCO, and drastically reduce the time to market for fleets looking to electrify,” the company says.
The implications of safe and certified everything-by-wire (known as ‘x-by-wire’) tech for car and commercial vehicle designers are profound, and while the Israeli company is making its first commercial moves in the US, know-how from the UK has been critical to the company’s technological success. The company relies on its UK Engineering Centre of Excellence at the Mira Technology Park in Warwickshire, for the design, validation, verification, testing and homologation of its products.
Daniel Barel CEO and co-founder of the company says it’s his belief that the company’s tech will be game-changing: “I am incredibly proud of the team at REE for completing certification of the automotive industry’s first ever fully x-by-wire vehicle. Our customers have been eagerly waiting for our vehicles to be ready to deliver and now our first demo trucks are on their way to dealerships for customer evaluations.”
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