Registry
Car & automotive brands
Carmakers don't write donation checks to Israel — they build laboratories there. General Motors has run a technical center in Herzliya since 2008 and has invested in Israeli vehicle-inspection firm UVeye. Ford bought Israeli computer-vision company SAIPS in 2016, opened a Tel Aviv research center, and its history goes deeper: it defied the Arab League boycott in 1966 and stayed on the boycott list for years. Stellantis signed an agreement with the Israel Innovation Authority and partners with Israeli startups Electreon and Vayyar. Tesla entered Israel with direct sales in 2021 and opened its Superchargers free of charge during wartime. The records below are about engineering money, not charity money.
37 companies with records · 4 with documented support · $4,469,000 in tracked donations
Documented companies
| Company | Top documented action | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Mobileye | Acquisition — $900,000,000 | 7 |
| Volvo Group | Franchisee action | 5 |
| Arbe | Operations in Israel | 2 |
| Audi | Partnership | 1 |
| BMW | Operations in Israel | 5 |
| Bosch | Operations in Israel | 4 |
| BYD | Government contract | 3 |
| Caterpillar | Government contract — $295,000,000 | 9 |
| Continental | Acquisition | 1 |
| Dacia | Operations in Israel | 2 |
| John Deere | Acquisition — $73,000,000 | 5 |
| Ford | Operations in Israel | 4 |
| Foresight | Operations in Israel | 3 |
| General Motors | Operations in Israel | 5 |
| Goodyear | Investment / program | 2 |
| Harman | Acquisition — $170,000,000 | 4 |
| Honda | Partnership | 2 |
| Hyundai | Investment / program — $5,000,000 | 8 |
| Innoviz | Government contract — $4,000,000,000 | 5 |
| Ituran | Operations in Israel | 2 |
| JCB | Operations in Israel | 3 |
| Jaguar Land Rover | Investment / program | 2 |
| Koç Holding | Partnership | 1 |
| MAN Truck & Bus | Franchisee action | 3 |
| Mercedes-Benz | Investment / program — $50,000,000 | 7 |
| Mitsubishi | Investment / program | 3 |
| Nissan | Franchisee action — $123,000 | 5 |
| Porsche | Investment / program — $2,000,000 | 3 |
| REE Automotive | Operations in Israel | 2 |
| Renault | Partnership | 4 |
| Skoda | Partnership | 3 |
| Stellantis | Partnership | 3 |
| Subaru | Operations in Israel | 1 |
| Tesla | Operations in Israel | 3 |
| Toyota | Investment / program | 3 |
| Volkswagen | Government contract — $4,000,000,000 | 7 |
| Volvo | Investment / program — $2,000,000 | 3 |
Researched — no records found
Frequently asked questions
Do car companies donate money to Israel?
We found no recorded corporate donations from the major carmakers. Their documented ties are industrial: R&D centers (GM in Herzliya, Ford in Tel Aviv), acquisitions of Israeli technology firms, startup partnerships, and — in Tesla's case — direct retail operations plus free Supercharging during the war. Each record links to its source.
Which car brand has the oldest ties to Israel?
Ford, by history: in 1966 it authorized an Israeli assembly plant in defiance of the Arab League boycott — a decision that put it on the League's blacklist for years. Among today's operations, GM's Herzliya technical center (opened 2008) is the longest-running documented R&D presence in this category.