Israeli autotech cos will have to disclose Chinese connections

Dozens of Israeli companies that provide devices and programs for the global auto industry will be asked to disclose information about their relations with China as a condition for participating in future supply contracts with Western cars manufacturers. This is followed by new American regulations designed to prevent the import of “smart” vehicles and the components of vehicles produced in China, from national security considerations.

As of January 2026, the regulations that have published this month in the United States are prohibited for new vehicles that use software components, including operating systems, associated with “companies from hostile countries”, Russia and China mainly. The ban also applies to Hong Kong. As of January 2029, there will be a similar ban on the use of the components of “smart” devices produced in China in vehicles sold in the United States. Among these power components for electric cars and associated management systems, where Chinese producers are dominant.

The ban will also apply to software components and devices that have not been manufactured and developed directly in China, but by companies controlled by Chinese companies or have a Chinese material investment. It will be applied to American car manufacturers, as well as to manufacturers from Korea, Japan and Europe, which sell or make vehicles in the United States.

The immediate response required

Industry sources say that although American regulations “apparently the long horizon, they obligate the manufacturers of vehicles immediately, because they sign the component supply contracts for future vehicles three years or more before the start of manufacturing.

Several Israeli automatic technology companies have already received inquiries from the Western vehicle manufacturers in which they work, and asked them to reveal “Chinese communications” in global production chains, and Chinese investments in them.

In recent years, many Israeli automatic technology companies have started operating production, research and development branches in China and Hong Kong, due to the relatively advanced and cheap infrastructure there in these areas.

Meanwhile, Israeli government agencies are working, among the Ministry of Transport and the National Directorate, to organize cyber protection for vehicles in Israel in the long term. This work aims to close potential security gaps throughout the life cycle of private and commercial vehicles sold in Israel. This will include technical definitions to protect the Internet in imported vehicles and operational aspects, such as protecting charging stations for electric cars, and wireless communications with smart infrastructure. Software updates from external servers.

The main motivation is the fact that most of the new cars that are currently sold in Israel belong to the category of “connected cars”, and have security gaps that can be used to disrupt their work from a distance, or use them to collect sensitive information, or to inflict sensitive national damage with infrastructure. Another reason is the large number of smart cars produced in China sold in Israel, although the conclusions will not apply specifically to Chinese cars but to all cars.

It was published by Globes, Israel Business News – En.globes.co.il – on January 28, 2025.

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