Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) on Wednesday said that it has partnered with Israel-based electric mobility company to develop and manufacture electric commercial vehicles for global markets.

M&M and REE Automotive signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Wednesday for this strategic collaboration. The partnership will support REE’s global customer need for 200,000-250,000 electric commercial vehicle units over a few years, including potential Mahindra’s domestic and international volumes, said M&M said in a statement.

Production would be scaled further to support additional volume in the global as well as Indian market, it further stated.

REE’s technology is designed for current and future e-mobility applications, including autonomous vehicles, the statement said. The scalability of the platform makes it ideal for any form of electric vehicles such as commercial vehicles, mid-duty delivery trucks, last mile delivery, passenger cars, taxis and shuttles, it added.

‘A new age of vehicles’

Such a strategic collaboration will leverage REE’s revolutionary electric vehicle corner module and platform technology of integrating powertrain, suspension and steering components in the arch of a vehicle wheel, the company said in a release. Coupled with Mahindra’s well-established vehicle design, engineering, sourcing capability and manufacturing assets, is set to be a win-win strategic partnership for both companies, it claimed. “Our collaboration with REE has the potential to bring a disruptive approach to a new age of vehicles capitalising on our respective strengths,” said Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director (Auto and Farm Sectors), M&M.

“The competitive advantages of REE’s corner modular architecture with our experience in conventional vehicle system design, engineering, sourcing ecosystem and significant production capacity, provides a perfect match to deliver exciting zero emission vehicles, including autonomous vehicles, that can meet customer needs as never before,” Jejurikar added.

This partnership will allow REE to address its customers’s needs based on M&M’s footprint and capabilities, said Daniel Barel, REE’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Having a partner like Mahindra joining our growing OEM partners network will allow us to drive our EV technology faster and at scale,” he added.

Pawan Goenka, MD, M&M, had said at a conference post the FY21 Q1 results that the company will have a range of new EVs, which would include new personal vehicles as well. Goenka has emphasised the importance of collaboration in the EV industry to primarily gain scale.

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