Volkswagen joins forces with Mobileye and Champion Motors to deliver a transport service using electric and autonomous vehicles in Israel

The automotive world is beginning to receive the first hints of the major changes on the horizon, which will be led by autonomous and electric vehicles. Volkswagen, a company that is just taking its first steps in both fields through prototypes, has decided to combine autonomous driving with electric powertrains and offer both innovations together in Israel. To carry out this project, the German firm has turned to Mobileye and Champion Motors, two companies that will work hard on the project to make it a reality as soon as possible and with the greatest efficiency.

The people from Wolfsburg – and the two companies accompanying them – have chosen Israel as the target for putting into practice what they call MaaS. These initials stand for “Mobility as a Service”, and it will revolutionise that sector thanks to the presence of vehicles with both autonomous and electric technology.

To carry out this work, the involvement of Mobileye – an Intel company – and Champion Motors has been key. Both organisations will play a fundamental role in this bold plan of the German firm: while Volkswagen will supply the electric vehicles, Mobileye will apply its expertise to implement level 4 autonomous driving systems. Last but not least, Champion Motors will take charge of the logistics side, which will be crucial for achieving an optimal result.

Israel has supported this project from the very beginning and, to help it take root, has provided this new partnership with information in three key areas: legal and regulatory support, infrastructure and the required data traffic, and access to infrastructure where necessary. In this way, Volkswagen will be able to begin gaining experience in this new “Mobility as a Service” sector, which will be introduced first in Israel but which, little by little, will reach the rest of the world.

It will be in 2019 when the German company and its two partners begin taking the first steps with what they call “New Mobility in Israel”. This project, in addition to serving as a fundamental basis for electric vehicles and autonomous driving, will be under development until 2022, at which point it will reach commercialisation and a high level of establishment both in Israel and in other parts of the planet.

In this way, Volkswagen aims to revolutionise not only the automotive world but also the services sector, which will enter a new technological era. For now we do not know what types of vehicles will take part in this mission, but it will be very soon that the brand begins to release data on its first 100% electric models.