Leading automotive companies turning to Israel in search of tech solutions for digital transformation and autonomous cars; Japan’s Mitsubishi opens new innovation center, increasing representation in Israel.
Japan’s automotive manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors Corporation opened an innovation center in Tel Aviv. The innovation center will scout for Israeli startups and technology as leading automotive companies turn to Israel for solutions and innovation for the cars of the future. Mitsubishi is following companies with R&D and innovation centers already in Israel like Mercedes, Renault–Nissan, BMW and most recently, Ford Motor Company.
Both Mitsubishi and Israel’s Ministry of Economy and Industry confirmed the new center, Israel announcing on Monday, “In the past two years, company representatives have begun to examine whether they should expand their activity in Israel and focus more on technological cooperation, including investments in Israeli companies. They intend to locate innovative technologies in Israel that are relevant mainly to digital transformation.”
For the past two years, Mitsubishi sent company representatives to “examine whether they should expand their activity in Israel and focus more on technological cooperation, including investments in Israeli companies.” According to State-Up Nation Central, over 70 Japanese companies are currently represented in Israel, Japan investing a reported $5 billion in Israel to date.
Just last week, Ford announced it would open an innovation center in Israel and the company’s executive chairman, Bill Ford Jr., will visit Israel in June. He is seeking high tech within the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous cars and cybersecurity. Ford Jr. is set to meet with Israeli companies like Mobileye, which was purchased by Intel Corp in January of this year.
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