Israeli electric vehicle company REE Automotive Ltd. plans to open its U.S. headquarters and integration center in Austin, the company announced July 23.
The company says it will create 150 jobs in Austin in coming years. The integration center will be home to light assembly of the company's REEcorner navigation and operating platform. REE plans to start production of an electric delivery van and a people mover vehicle in 2023. Meanwhile, Toyota's Hino division plans to use its platform for its electric trucks and buses.
This adds to a rapidly growing EV ecosystem in Austin, dominated by the addition of Tesla's $1.1 billion gigafactory. Hyliion, which makes hybrid and fully electric power trains for tractor-trailers, went public last year. Electric utility task vehicle maker Volcon planted its HQ here last year and recently produced its first products for shipment. Ayro, which makes light duty electric vehicles, last month landed an initial purchase order valued at $2 million. And Infinitum Electric late last year said it would to hire 30 new local employees in 2021 and ship 5,000 electric motors.
“Austin is fast becoming a worldwide home for elite technology professionals," Daniel Barel, REE’s co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. "REE needs to continue growing and thriving, and Austin’s dynamism and entrepreneurial spirit definitely fit REE’s culture and values."
The company just this week completed its merger with 10X Capital Venture Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, and started trading July 23 on Nasdaq under the "REE" ticker. Its investors have included Koch Strategic Platforms and Magna International. The company had a market cap of about $247 million as of midday July 23.
In a July 1 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, 10X touched on REE's future integration center. It said it would be approximately 20,000 square feet and be able to assemble up to 40,000 REEplatforms per year. They expected integration centers would require about 50 employees. It also said the "initial capital investment required for each REE future integration center is estimated to be about $15 million."
