Monthly Review March 2022

Preface – Economic Climate

The Israeli economy is an advanced economy that belongs to the OECD organization. The GDP per capita is $50,679 and the growth rate in 2021 is estimated by 8.1%.

Israel is recovering from the Corona crisis that has affected the Israeli economy significantly since 2020. The deficit in April 2021 – March 2022 is 1.4% from the GDP, the debt-to-GDP ratio is 67.3%. The unemployment rate is 3.5% but the unofficial unemployment rate climbed to about 4.7%. The new government gave a good signal to the markets by passing a new budget for the first time in 3 years. From a monetary point of view, the crisis is being managed professionally by the Bank of Israel, which is monitoring the local credit market and solving liquidity problems through plans to purchase bonds and keep interest rates low.

Along with economic stabilization and quick growth, there has been an increase in the inflation rate, as of March the annual rate is 3.8%. The Chief Economist in the Ministry of Finance predicts a similar increase next year as well.

Statistical Profile

Society

Population (February 2022): 9.474 Million

Economy

GDP per capita (March 2022): $ 50,679

Inflation (March 2022): 3.8% Annual Growth Rate

Current Account Balance (Q4 2021): 5.09% of GDP

Trade in Goods and Services (March 2022): $15.35 billion

Finance

US Dollar Exchange rate (March 2022): NIS 3.24

Euro Exchange rate (March 2022): NIS 3.57

Long-term interest rates (March 2022) : 0.41% Per Annum

Short-term interest rates (March 2022): 1.61% Per Annum

Government

Debt to GDP ratio (March 2022): 67.3%

Deficit to GDP (March 2021 to March 2022): 1.4%

Motorization

Level of Motorization (2020): 397 Vehicles/1,000 Residence

Innovation and Technology

Gross Domestic Spending on R&D (2020): 5.43% of GDP

Environment

CO2 Emissions (2018): 6.98 Tonnes Per Capita

Jobs

Employment Rate (Q4 2021): 68.16% of Working Age Population

Official Unemployment Rate (March 2022): 3.5% of Labour Force

Unofficial Unemployment Rate (including non-paid absence due to Covid-19): 4.7% of Labour Force

New Cars and CV Registrations

 New Passenger Car Registration: Jan-March 2022

Passenger car registration: An increase of 4.1% compared with March 2021; Since January 2022, a decrease of 10% compared with Jan-March 2021.

In March 2022, the Israeli passenger car market registered 27,794 new cars. This figure represents an increase of 4.1% compared with March 2021. Since January, 90,489 new cars were registered – a decrease of 10% compared with Jan-March 2021.

New Passenger Cars Registration According to Brands: Jan-March 2022

New CV above 3.5 ton Registration: Jan-March 2022

Commercial Vehicles above 3.5 ton registration: +21.6% compared with March 2021, since the beginning of the year, a decrease of 1.1% in registrations.

In March 2022, the Israeli market for CV above 3.5 ton registered an increase of 21.6% with 1,643 new registrations, compared with 1,351 units in March 2021. Since January, 4,780 units were registered – a decrease of 1.1% compared with the first quarter of 2021.

New CV above 3.5 ton Registration According to Brands: Jan-March 2022

New Bus Registration According to Brands: Jan-March 2022

Israel's Auto and Auto-Tech industry

I-Via Held an Innovative Cybersecurity Officers Course

The Israeli vehicle importers association held on March a new and innovative course for cybersecurity officers. The course, a world's first of its kind, offers transportation cybersecurity knowledge, specifically for senior position holders in automotive companies. The content of the course, which was developed together with the cyber wing of the Israeli ministry of transportation, takes into consideration that organizations that are aware of cyber threat and ready for them, are more protected and less exposed. According to Dr. Hezi Shayb, CEO of I-Via, "Against the background of accelerated developments in global cyber, combined with lack of sufficient awareness to weaknesses, new vehicles, being digitally connected, become an attractive target for various cyber-attacks". "With the help of professional Knowledge and preparation, these threats can be minimized or even removed", concluded Shayb.   

Autotalks Doubled Backlog Orders, Wins Contracts with Leading OEMs

Autotalks, a world leader in V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) communication solutions, announced that it has doubled its backlog orders in 2021 to $200 million. During 2021, Autotalks has doubled the number of its automotive OEMs clients to six, after winning contracts to provide its V2X chipsets to three additional top auto manufacturers – one in Europe, one in Japan, and one in China. That adds to the earlier win of Volkswagen’s next generation Telematics platform. The company has been supplying its V2X chipsets for global infrastructure and smart city projects and has secured contracts for future large projects.

StoreDot Secures Investment from Ola Electric

StoreDot, the pioneer of extreme fast charging - XFC -technologies for electric vehicles, has secured a multi-million-dollar investment from Ola Electric, India's leading EV manufacturer with a mission to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable mobility. Ola Electric is planning to incorporate and manufacture StoreDot's fast charging battery technologies for future vehicles in India. Ola is joining a wide range of high-profile investors and partners in StoreDot – a roster that now includes Daimler, VinFast, BP, Samsung, TDK, and EVE Energy. The company registered another achievement, and reported that it accomplished a pioneering milestone of producing silicon dominant extreme fast charging cells capable of charging for 1200 cycles. 

Electreon Pilot in Sweden Extended, Receives Funding from Swedish Government

Israeli Electreon is a leading provider of wireless charging solutions for EVs and developer of an "Electric Road". For the past two years, the company has been collaborating with the Swedish government in developing a pilot study in the Swedish island of Gotland. Now, the company announces that the duration of the pilot will be extended and that the Swedish ministry of transportation will fund it with an additional 2M Euros. Electreon is also active in various smart-road projects in Germany, Italy, Israel, Finland and the US.  

Prof. Amnon Shashua Enters Automotive Hall of Fame

Prof. Amnon Shashua, founder, president and CEO of Mobileye, enters the automotive hall of fame in Dearborn, Michigan. Shashua will receive an award for innovation in the field of mobility. The ceremony will be held this coming July.   

SaverOne Signs Distribution Agreements in New-Zealand, the UAE

SaverOne, developer of an effective solution for cell phone distracted driving, announces two new distribution agreements. The company signed an agreement with Fuso New-Zealand that will market and sell SaverOne's systems in New-Zealand and Australia. In addition, the company also signed an international distribution agreement with Abu-Dhabi's ezDevSoft , that will distribute SaverOne's system in the UAE.