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.
34 companies with documented support · $1,200,000 in tracked donations
Documented companies
| Company | Top documented action | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Mobileye Global Inc. | Acquisition — $900,000,000 | 5 |
| Arbe Robotics | Operations in Israel | 2 |
| Audi AG | Partnership | 1 |
| Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) | Operations in Israel | 5 |
| Robert Bosch GmbH | Operations in Israel | 4 |
| BYD Company Limited | Government contract | 3 |
| Caterpillar Inc. | Government contract — $295,000,000 | 4 |
| Continental AG | Acquisition | 1 |
| Dacia | Operations in Israel | 1 |
| Deere & Company | Acquisition — $73,000,000 | 4 |
| Ford Motor Company | Operations in Israel | 4 |
| Foresight Autonomous Holdings | Operations in Israel | 3 |
| General Motors Company | Operations in Israel | 3 |
| The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company | Investment / program | 2 |
| Harman International | Acquisition — $170,000,000 | 4 |
| Honda Motor Co., Ltd. | Partnership | 2 |
| Hyundai Motor Company | Investment / program — $5,000,000 | 7 |
| Innoviz Technologies Ltd. | Government contract — $4,000,000,000 | 5 |
| Ituran Location and Control Ltd. | Operations in Israel | 2 |
| Jaguar Land Rover | Investment / program | 2 |
| Koç Holding A.Ş. | Partnership | 2 |
| Mercedes-Benz Group AG | Investment / program — $50,000,000 | 4 |
| Mitsubishi Motors Corporation | Investment / program | 2 |
| Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. | Operations in Israel | 3 |
| Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG | Investment / program — $2,000,000 | 3 |
| REE Automotive | Operations in Israel | 2 |
| Renault Group | Investment / program | 3 |
| ŠKODA AUTO a.s. | Partnership | 2 |
| Stellantis N.V. | Partnership | 3 |
| Subaru Corporation | Operations in Israel | 1 |
| Tesla, Inc. | Operations in Israel | 3 |
| Toyota Motor Corporation | Investment / program | 3 |
| Volkswagen AG | Government contract — $4,000,000,000 | 6 |
| Volvo Cars | Investment / program — $2,000,000 | 2 |
Researched — no records found
- Abdul Latif Jameel
- Al-Futtaim Group
- Citroën (Stellantis N.V.)
- Ferrari N.V.
- Jeep (Stellantis N.V.)
- Kia Corporation
- Mazda Motor Corporation
- Michelin
- MINI (BMW Group)
- Opel Automobile GmbH (Stellantis N.V.)
- Peugeot (Stellantis N.V.)
- Pirelli & C. S.p.A.
- SEAT, S.A.
- Suzuki Motor Corporation
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.