Israeli Government to Fund Autonomous Cars

The Israel Innovation Authority and the Ministry of Transport will offer an array of aid programs worth NIS 100 million per year for pilots, as reported by Globes.

The transportation program was developed in cooperation with the Alternative Fuels and Smart Transportation Administration in the Prime Minister’s Office.

The goal is to help finance advanced testing which will require new facilities, use of vehicle fleets, fuel. The companies that will take part to the program will also most likely receive permission to deviate from the current regulatory restrictions. In some cases, they’ll also get taxes exemption.

So far, the government has received a lot of requests for tests of autonomous and semi-autonomous driving technologies. According to Globes, various requests were on the new autonomous cars and accessory equipment for existing cars, new technologies, smart adaption of traffic lights management, fuel saving technologies and use of environmentally friendly fuels.

Also the IDF is interested in transportation innovation and is negotiating to open IDF test fields for civilian tests in the areas for testing.