Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) will establish a research and development (R&D) center in Israel for advanced auto technologies, the company announced in China. The company said the center would focus on development and venture capital investment in “electrical propulsion, data networks, car sharing, and smart automated propulsion.” The center is part of a global plan in which the company is expanding its R&D worldwide. It recently opened a similar center in Silicon Valley.
Sources informed Globes that the company’s advance team is already in Israel, and that the company’s branch in Israel is slated to expand to 50 employees. It is believed that SAIC’s business in Israel will be located in the new management center of the Lubinski group in Meuyan Sorek. Lubinski has been the official importer for SAIC in recent years, and has sold several thousand units of the brand to date.