A Japanese truck maker and an Israeli tech startup have quietly teamed up to build what could be the most manoeuvrable delivery van ever designed—one that steers, brakes, and accelerates entirely by wire, with no mechanical connections between the driver and the wheels.
On 18th November 2025, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (a Daimler Truck subsidiary) and REE Automotive signed a Memorandum of Understanding to co-develop software-defined electric commercial vehicles using REE’s radical x-by-wire technology. A follow-up report on 28th November confirmed the partnership has already moved beyond handshakes: REE is now converting a Mitsubishi Fuso eCanter electric truck into a cloud-connected demonstrator, with plans to expand the collaboration into purpose-built medium-duty box trucks and vans for last-mile delivery. The evaluation phase runs for one year, after which Mitsubishi Fuso will decide whether to adopt REE’s platform as the foundation for its next generation of urban delivery vehicles.
The technology at the heart of this partnership is genuinely different. REE’s x-by-wire system eliminates every mechanical linkage in the vehicle—no steering column, no brake cables, no drive shafts. Instead, steering, braking, suspension, and powertrain are controlled electronically through REE’s patented REEcorner modules, which pack the motor, inverter, braking hardware, and steering actuators directly into each wheel. The result is a completely flat chassis with no transmission tunnel, no bulky axles, and unprecedented interior volume. More importantly, because each wheel can be controlled independently, the platform enables manoeuvres impossible in conventional vans: crab-walking sideways into tight loading bays, tank-turning on the spot, and turning circles up to 50 per cent tighter than traditional box trucks. For urban delivery drivers navigating narrow London streets or cramped distribution centres, that kind of agility could transform daily operations.
Beyond the physical hardware, the partnership is explicitly focused on building a software-defined vehicle architecture. REE’s zonal design replaces the hundreds of electronic control units found in legacy trucks with a handful of high-performance zonal controllers, dramatically reducing wiring complexity and weight. The system supports over-the-air updates, AI-driven predictive maintenance, cloud-connected fleet management, and built-in cybersecurity—all features that position the platform for autonomous driving and new subscription-based revenue models. Mitsubishi Fuso sees this as a way to leapfrog competitors in the race toward smarter, cloud-upgradeable commercial vehicles, whilst REE gains the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) validation it has desperately needed since going public in 2021.
Mitsubishi Fuso brings proven commercial vehicle expertise and an established product—the eCanter electric truck, already in series production across Japan, Europe, and other markets. REE supplies the revolutionary platform technology and the integration know-how from its Coventry, UK facility, which has been building prototype P7-C demonstration vehicles since 2023. The first demonstrator is an eCanter retrofitted with REE’s full x-by-wire system and zonal architecture, serving as a testbed for future purpose-built models. If the evaluation succeeds, Mitsubishi Fuso could adopt REE’s platform for an entirely new family of software-defined delivery vans designed from the ground up for urban logistics.
This partnership signals a strategic shift for both companies. For Mitsubishi Fuso, it’s a bet that the future of commercial vehicles lies not in incrementally electrifying existing designs but in rethinking the entire architecture around software, data, and autonomous readiness. For REE, which has struggled to secure large-scale OEM partnerships despite its innovative technology, the deal offers a pathway to real-world validation and potential volume production. The collaboration also reflects a broader trend in the commercial EV market: legacy manufacturers are increasingly willing to partner with tech startups rather than develop proprietary platforms in-house, especially when the technology leap is this significant.
The UK is almost certain to feature prominently in pilot programmes, even though the announcements don’t explicitly mention British trials. REE’s only European integration and production facility sits in Coventry, where all its European demo vehicles have been built. Mitsubishi Fuso already sells the conventional eCanter through its UK dealer network, and several British delivery fleets already operate the electric version. Converting a handful of those fleets to full REE-powered software-defined vehicles would be a logical next step, likely beginning sometime in 2026 as the evaluation phase concludes. The combination of REE’s Coventry plant and Fuso’s established UK presence makes Britain an ideal testing ground for urban delivery applications where tight turning circles and zero-emission operation matter most.
Globally, the partnership faces stiff competition from Ford’s E-Transit, currently the volume leader in electric vans across Europe and the UK. The E-Transit offers proven reliability, a range of up to roughly 200 miles, and the backing of Ford’s massive dealer and service network. It’s a conventional electric vehicle—a diesel Transit with the engine swapped for batteries and motors—but it’s available now, and fleets trust it. The Fuso-REE platform, by contrast, is conceptually superior in nearly every technical dimension: tighter turns, a completely flat floor for easier upfitting, over-the-air software updates, and future-proof autonomous capability. But it remains unproven at scale, carrying higher perceived risk for fleet operators who can’t afford downtime.
The timeline matters. REE and Mitsubishi Fuso announced their MoU on 18th November, began converting the eCanter demonstrator immediately, and confirmed the expanded box-truck development on 28 November. The one-year evaluation is expected to conclude in late 2026, at which point Mitsubishi Fuso will decide whether to adopt REE as its platform supplier for future models. If the answer is yes, UK and European delivery-fleet pilots could begin as early as 2026 or 2027, with series production potentially following by the end of the decade.
This collaboration could produce the most advanced urban delivery van architecture on the market within two to three years—or it could join the long list of ambitious EV partnerships that fizzled after the prototype stage. But if Mitsubishi Fuso and REE succeed in bringing a full x-by-wire, software-defined delivery van to market, they’ll have built something genuinely new: a vehicle that doesn’t just replace diesel with batteries but reimagines what a van can do when every wheel thinks for itself.
