JERUSALEM, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Mercedes-Benz Tel Aviv research and development center opened on Thursday as an important part of the auto giant Daimler Group's global network of research and development facilities.
The new R&D center in Tel Aviv focuses on digital vehicle and mobility services, which perfectly fit the strong competence of the start-up nation.
"Israel is among the top five ecosystems for innovation, digital technologies, new mobility services and car IT. And it is one of the top four largest talent pools in the world," said Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board of management of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.
"With our new technology center in Tel Aviv, we want to strengthen our global R&D network and tap into this vibrant mix of creativity, optimism and digital competencies to develop innovative mobility solutions for our customers," said Zetsche.
Trends such as digitalization, autonomous driving, security and connectivity will heavily influence vehicle development in the future.
In order to meet the vast and fast technological changes, Daimler has set up a global network of research and development facilities that is kept continuously up-to-date.
The global network consists of 25 locations in 11 countries. The largest facilities are located in Sindelfingen and Stuttgart-Unterturkheim, Sunnyvale in California, Bangalore in India and Beijing in China. About 16,000 employees are currently working in the global network.
This network is essential to address the challenges of the future, to anticipate and recognize customers' demands and to act quickly and flexibly, according to Zetsche.
The development times for fascinating products and state-of-the-art technologies and innovations can thus be greatly reduced, he said.
At the new digital hub in Tel Aviv, a specially-skilled team of about 25 employees will contribute to and support the worldwide activities in mobility services and digitalization in 2018, said Zetsche.
Besides the development and testing of pilot projects for new user interfaces, the center aims to establish and maintain a network of local partners, universities and high-tech companies.
Working in tandem with the Israeli start-up community, the goal of the center is to create various technologies that support the connected vehicle, such as biometric authentication, navigation and other innovations, Zetsche explained.
