New Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess has made a visit to Israel that is seen as politically significant – given the company's history – as well as commercially beneficial due to the increasing presence of Israeli companies in advanced automotive technologies.
In addition to meeting with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Diess visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. This was followed by talks with representatives from Israel's start-up scene and discussions with the CEOs of Gett and Mobileye on innovative mobility services and autonomous driving.
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"I particularly wanted to come to Israel at the beginning of my tenure, not least because of our company's own past," Herbert Diess said when he met with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his official residence in Jerusalem. One of the topics discussed was the possibility of cooperating on innovative mobility services.
The meeting took place after a visit by Diess to the Yad Vashem Memorial, where he signed the guest book: "We have a responsibility to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive, to remember the victims and to make sure this kind of catastrophe never happens again," Diess said.
During his visit to Israel Diess also found out more about the country's technology and start-up scene. With over 1,000 start-ups, Tel Aviv is one of the world's largest and most agile innovation centres. The company recently opened the Volkswagen Group "Konnect" Campus in Tel Aviv in order to make better use of this potential. "Konnect" enables start-ups and local partners to engage in a direct exchange with the Volkswagen Group and its brands. Further, "Konnect" allows Volkswagen to observe developments in connectivity, autonomous driving, smart navigation, cyber security, e-mobility and big data at close quarters.
As far as innovative mobility services are concerned, Volkswagen already holds a 20 percent stake in a partnership with the Israeli ride hailing company Gett. Diess discussed the development of future robotaxis with Gett CEO Dave Waiser during his visit. He also met with CEO and CTO Prof. Amnon Shashua from Mobileye in Tel Aviv to discuss and test drive self-driving cars.
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