The Israeli army is about to replace all Chinese cars used by its officers with Japanese Mitsubishis, amid fears that their data could be transmitted to China and elsewhere.
The army had previously leased Chinese Chery Tiggo 8s to officers with large families, according to Haaretz. The change means that 600 of these vehicles will be recalled at the end of their leasing periods and replaced with Mitsubishi Outlanders.
Haaretz said that the mulitimedia systems in the Chery’s had been “sterilized” so they could not transmit data externally, but the Israeli army found that it could not rule out whether they still collect information.
Israel is now drawing new guidelines limiting the parking of Chinese cars near military bases and other sensitive sites. Some army bases already ban Chinese cars.
In Israel’s latest tender for cars to be leased to its officers, Chinese cars were excluded, and the tenders went to manufacturers such as Czechia’s Skoda, South Korea’s Kia, and the US’s Opel. Around 10,000 cars will be leased in total.
Fears over data sharing have arisen due to features such as cameras, sensors, mobile phone connectivity, and voice-operated systems that a new generation of cars are equipped with.
The European Union already has regulations stating that data transmitted from cars must go to servers in Europe, not China, but this is difficult to enforce.
The Israeli army is more concerned about the Chinese systems being hacked to gain access to their data, rather than routine operations, according to Haaretz.
Haaretz said that Chinese cars will still be used in The Kirya, the Israeli Defence Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, despite being banned from other bases.