Monthly Review February 2026

Preface – Economic Climate

The Israeli economy continues its steady improvement into February 2026, with key indicators moving in the right direction. Inflation held at 2%, short-term interest rates remained at 4% while long-term rates reduced to 3.8%, and the Shekel traded at an average of ₪3.10 per USD, reflecting continued market confidence. On the fiscal side, the deficit narrowed to 4.7% of GDP for the twelve months through February, down from 4.9% in the prior period, and the debt-to-GDP ratio declined to 68.5%.

These figures, however, predate a pivotal development: on 28 February 2026, Israel launched a military campaign against Iran. While February's data remains unaffected, the economic implications for the exchange rate, government expenditure, and investor sentiment are expected to materialize in March and potentially beyond.

February's economic data paint a picture of underlying resilience. Israel's GDP per capita stands at $60,960, with a growth rate of 3.1% in 2025. The deficit stood at 4.7% of GDP for the twelve months through February 2026, while the debt-to-GDP ratio declined to 68.5%. Unemployment held at 3.1%, and inflation rose to 2% as of February 2026. Interest rates remained stable, with the short-term rate at 4% and the long-term rate at 3.8% per annum.

Statistical Profile

Society

Population (February 2026): 10.196 Million

Economy

GDP per capita (February 2026): $ 60,960

Inflation (February 2026) (Annual Growth Rate): 2% 

Current Account Balance (December 2025): 2.8% of GDP

Trade in Goods and Services (February 2026): $13.245 billion

Finance

US Dollar Exchange rate (February 2026, Avg.): NIS 3.1

Euro Exchange rate (February 2026, Avg.): NIS 3.7

Long-term interest rates (February 2026): 3.8% Per Annum

Short-term interest rates (February 2026): 4% Per Annum

Government

Debt to GDP ratio (2025): 68.5%

Deficit to GDP (March 2025 - February 2026): 4.7% 

Motorization

Level of Motorization (2024): 421 Vehicles/1,000 Residence

Innovation and Technology

Gross Domestic Spending on R&D (2023): 6.3% of GDP

Environment

CO2 Emissions (2024): 5.6 Tonnes Per Capita

Jobs

Employment Rate (January 2026): 62.6% of the Working-Age Population

Official Unemployment Rate (January 2026): 3.1% of the Labour Force

New Cars and CV Registrations

 New Passenger Car Registration: January-February 2026

Passenger car registration: an increase of 10.6% compared with January-February 2025.

In February 2026, the Israeli passenger car market registered 27,214 new cars – an increase of 10.6% compared with February 2025. Since the beginning of the year, 68,832 new cars were registered – a decrease of 3.4% compared with last year. Since January, 22,073 new cars with electric propulsion (BEV+PHEV) were registered. The market share of pure EVs currently stands at 9.9% with 6,831 deliveries.

New Passenger Cars Registration According to Brands: January-February 2026

New CV above 3.5-ton Registration: January-February 2026

Commercial Vehicles above 3.5 tons registration: 26.9% increase compared with January-February 2025.

In February 2026, the Israeli market for CVs above 3.5 tons registered an increase of 26.9% in deliveries, with 1,423 new registrations, compared with 1,121 units in February 2025. Since the beginning of the year, 3,194 CVs above 3.5 tons and buses were registered, an increase of 7.3% compared with last year.

New CV above 3.5-ton Registration According to Brands: January-February 2026

New Bus Registration According to Brands: Jan-Feb 2026

Israel's Auto and Auto-Tech industry

MCNEX and Valens bring QHD cameras to low-cost cabling

MCNEX and Valens Semiconductor have jointly developed a family of automotive-grade front and rear cameras delivering QHD (2560×1440) resolution over unshielded twisted pair (UTP) or low-cost coaxial cables, based on Valens’ VA7000 A-PHY chipsets. The companies say the cameras are the first automotive-grade QHD units to operate over unshielded channels, enabling OEMs to reduce wiring harness cost and complexity without sacrificing image quality for ADAS applications.

The VA7000 chipsets are based on the MIPI A-PHY standard and deliver multi-gigabit link speeds with electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) robustness over simple cable types. The cameras are targeted at interior ADAS applications — including front and rear units mounted within the cabin — where unshielded cabling is a practical option. MCNEX is also releasing a 4K, 60fps rear-view camera operating over shielded cabling, also based on the VA7000. The chipsets are already in mass production, with the first OEM vehicle start of production (SoP) expected in early 2027.

Innoviz Technologies Expands Partnership with Dataspeed Inc. to Integrate InnovizSMART LiDAR to Drive-by-Wire Platforms

Innoviz Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: INVZ), a leading supplier of high-performance LiDAR solutions, and Dataspeed Inc. a premier provider of drive-by-wire vehicle integration and autonomous research platforms, today announced a strategic collaboration for the distribution and seamless integration of InnovizSMART LiDAR sensors into Dataspeed's Drive-by-Wire vehicle systems for defense, agriculture, mining, automotive, and off-highway industries across North America.

Dataspeed's Drive-by-Wire platforms can be integrated into autonomous off-road vehicles designed for deployment across deserts, forests, open pit mines, farmland, and mountains. These environments may expose the vehicles' sensors to mud, dirt, condensation, and airborne debris, which can degrade the performance of today's LiDAR sensors that aren't designed for such conditions, leading to compromised data that can cripple a perception system during critical moments.

The collaboration is set to deliver integration of InnovizSMART into Dataspeed's Drive-by-Wire systems allowing customers to benefit from: Blockage-resilience (LiDAR performance remains reliable even in scenarios where mud, dirt, or debris build up on the sensor window), Direct integration with Dataspeed's control architecture,and Purpose-built autonomous research and development vehicles for agriculture, off-highway, defence, and university applications.

Wayve secures $1.5B to deploy its global autonomy platform

Wayve, a leader in embodied AI for autonomous driving, announced it has raised $1.2 billion in a Series D investment round, bringing its post-money valuation to $8.6 billion. The funding accelerates the company’s shift from AI research leadership to scaled commercial deployment of its end-to-end AI platform. Microsoft, NVIDIA and Uber participated in the round, reflecting support for Wayve’s embodied AI as a foundational software layer for deploying autonomy at a global scale. Leading global automotive manufacturers Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Stellantis also invested, in support of advancing Wayve’s unified AI platform spanning L2+ “hands off” through L3/L4 “eyes off” driving across vehicles, brands, and markets.

Wayve pioneered the application of end-to-end AI to autonomous driving in 2017 and has since industrialised its safety-by-design architecture into a production-ready autonomy platform. From 2026, consumers will experience Wayve-powered robotaxis through commercial trials with Uber. From 2027, they will be able to buy passenger vehicles equipped with Wayve’s AI Driver, starting with L2+ “hands-off” capability that allows the vehicle to steer, navigate and respond to traffic under driver supervision.

In the past year, Wayve became the first and only AV developer to drive zero-shot in more than 500 cities across Europe, North America and Japan, meaning without city-specific fine-tuning before deployment. That performance is enabled by Wayve’s foundation model trained on globally diverse data spanning over 70 countries and a wide range of vehicle platforms, creating unmatched data diversity that allows autonomy to generalize to new markets.

Uber participated in the Series D and has committed additional capital to support multi-year deployments of Wayve-powered robotaxis on the Uber network, with plans to scale to more than 10 markets globally. The companies plan to launch their first service in London in 2026, with broader international rollout to follow. Under the partnership, Wayve will deploy its AI Driver in L4-capable vehicles from participating automakers, while Uber will own and operate the fleet, creating a scalable model for autonomous ride-hailing using mass-produced vehicles.