Monthly Review February 2024

Preface – Economic Climate

On the morning of October 7th, the State of Israel fell victim to a reprehensible and traumatic terror act that claimed innocent civilians' lives. Israel is now compelled to engage in warfare as it responds to these unprovoked and barbaric onslaughts. This conflict will indubitably impact Israel's near-term and long-term trajectory across many areas, including financial stability. Many indices are apt to shift dramatically in forthcoming assessments, as is inherent to the nature of wartime (e.g., inflation, foreign exchange rates, employment).

Therefore, updated data will be presented with minimal additions where possible.

The Israeli economy is an advanced economy that participates in the OECD organization. Israel’s GDP per capita is $53,381. Israel’s growth rate in 2023 was 2%, while the current forecast for 2024 ranges from 1.5-3.0%.

Israel maintains a 5.6% deficit of the GDP from March 2023 to February 2024.

The debt-to-GDP ratio increased to 62.1% in 2023, and the unemployment rate was 3.3% in February 2024.

As of February 2024, the annual inflation growth rate was 2.5%. In February 2024, the short-term interest rate was 4.5%, while the long-term interest rate stood at 4.3% (as of November 2023).  
 

Statistical Profile

Society

Population (January 2024): 9.855 Million

Economy

GDP per capita (February 2024): $ 53,381 (NIS 193,874)

Inflation (February 2024) (Annual Growth Rate): 2.5% 

Current Account Balance (September 2023): 3.6% of GDP

Trade in Goods and Services (February 2024): $12.7 billion ( NIS46.1 billion)

Finance

US Dollar Exchange rate (February 2024, Avg.): NIS 3.63

Euro Exchange rate (February 2024, Avg.): NIS 3.93

Long-term interest rates (November 2023): 4.3% Per Annum

Short-term interest rates (February 2024): 4.5% Per Annum

Government

Debt to GDP ratio (2023): 62.1%

Deficit to GDP (March 2023 - February 2024): 5.6% 

Motorization

Level of Motorization (2022): 411 Vehicles/1,000 Residence

Innovation and Technology

Gross Domestic Spending on R&D (2021): 5.557% of GDP

Environment

CO2 Emissions (2022): 8.38 Tonnes Per Capita (BDO Model Estimation)

CO2 Emissions (2021): 6.74 Tonnes Per Capita

Jobs

Employment Rate (February 2024): 62.5% of the Working Age Population

Official Unemployment Rate (February 2024): 3.3% of the Labour Force

New Cars and CV Registrations

 New Passenger Car Registration: Jan-Feb 2024

Passenger car registration:  Decrease of 16.8% compared with Jan-Feb 2023.

In February 2024, the Israeli passenger car market registered 26,143 new cars, a decrease of 10.2% compared with February 2023. From the beginning of the year, 63,490 new cars were registered, a decrease of 16.8% compared with last year. Since January, 15,289 BEVs and 2,955 PHEVs have been registered, totaling 18,244 cars with chargeable electric drives, representing 28.8% of all registrations. The market share of pure EVs in 2024 is currently 24.1%.

New Passenger Cars Registration According to Brands: Jan-Feb 2024

New CV above 3.5-ton Registration: Jan-Feb 2024

Commercial Vehicles above 3.5-ton registration: -17.8% compared with February 2023.

In February 2024, the Israeli market for CVs above 3.5 tons registered a 17.8% decrease in deliveries, with 1,141 new registrations, compared with 1,388 units in February 2023. Since the beginning of the year, 2,692 units were delivered, a decrease of 17.8% compared with last year. 

New CV above 3.5-ton Registration According to Brands: Jan-Feb 2024

New Bus Registration According to Brands: Jan-Feb 2024

Israel's Auto and Auto-Tech industry

OPENLANE launches AI-driven damage detection technology by Israeli Click-Ins

Israeli Click-Ins, which developed an automated system to simplify vehicle inspection and damage detection, introduced an AI-driven automated technology to help car and insurance companies transform manual procedures into fast and efficient fact-based processes. Called Visual Boost AI, the AI-powered technology supplements vehicle inspection data by prominently highlighting detected exterior damage directly on photos within the condition report (CR), making it faster and easier for buyers to accurately locate and assess potential defects before deciding on a purchase.

OPENLANE, Inc. (NYSE: KAR), a leading operator of digital marketplaces for wholesale used vehicles, announced the launch of Visual Boost AI™, new damage detection overlays for every dealer-consigned vehicle in OPENLANE’s US marketplace. The AI-powered technology supplements vehicle inspection data by prominently highlighting detected exterior damage directly on photos within the condition report (CR), making it faster and easier for interested buyers to accurately locate and assess potential defects before purchasing.

City Transformer Unveils CT-2 Production-Ready Model

Israeli City Transformer is gearing up for production of its “Foldable” urban car at the Cecomp plant in Torino, Italy, with sales starting in July. The company has secured 1,000 orders in Israel for medical emergency services “Ichud Hazala” in addition to 1,000 orders globally. The CT-2 production-ready improved model can be pre-ordered for 16,000 Euros at the company’s website. It has a range of 120-180 Km and a top speed of 90 Km/h, and it includes A/C, an audio system, blind spot monitoring, and an FCW system. The CT-2 includes new exterior and interior design. The width of the micro-car can be changed from 1.4 meters to 1 meter at the touch of a button (also while driving), thus enabling 75% less parking space – 4 transformers can park in the same space as one conventional car.

SAP Israel Switches to EVs

Following the announcement from November 2021, according to which the global software company intends to change its entire fleet to ZE vehicles by 2025, the Israeli branch of SAP will switch its’ 900-car fleet to EVs. The company offers incentives for its workers to do so, such as free charging at SAP’s charging stations in the workplace and an 8,000 NIS grant for the installation of home charging points.  

Hailo Chips Chosen by Chinese Automaker

Hailo, an Israeli company making artificial intelligence processors, has been selected by automotive company iMotion, a leading Chinese provider of autonomous driving solutions, to place two of its chips in its systems. The Hailo-8 AI accelerator and the Renesas R-Car V4H SoC will power iMotion’s advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving (AD), making applications such as autopilot navigation and automated parking more viable and affordable for mass-market vehicles. A Chinese automaker is expected to begin mass production using the iMotion systems in H2 of 2024. 

Innoviz to Lay Off 13% of its Workforce to Reduce Cash Outlays

LiDAR technology developer Innoviz announced it intends to lay off 13% of its workforce - 61 out of 468 employees. Most of the lay-offs will be in Innoviz’s headquarters in Rosh Ha’ayin, Israel, as well as in Europe and the U.S. The company said that “realignment actions” will be implemented during the first quarter of 2024 and are expected to reduce cash outlays by $22-24 million annually. Savings are expected to be derived primarily from the transition of the InnovizOne program to series production and the concentration of future investments on the InnovizTwo sensor and perception software suite.