September 19, 2018
Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018
Copenhagen, DENMARK – Lt. Governor Brian Calley took Michigan’s message of mobility and connected vehicle innovation across the Atlantic to the ITS World Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark this week.
Earlier today, Calley participated in a Michigan-led symposium on the future of intelligent vehicle testing and deployment. He also met with leading vehicle technology companies such as Valeo, TomTom, NAVYA, Qualcomm and Toyota to highlight copious investment opportunities in Michigan within the mobility and tech industries. A video highlighting Michigan’s work at the conference is available here.
“For the second year, Michigan is convening global leaders at ITS World Congress to discuss regulations and standards that can help accelerate the global implementation of connected and automated vehicle technologies,” Calley said. “We remain the world leader in the field of mobility and continuing to be proactive shows the world we are committed to retaining that title and continuing explosive job growth in these sectors.”
Representatives from the United Kingdom, China, the Netherlands, and Canada participated in the event, which was led by Kirk Steudle, Director of the Michigan Department of Transportation.
Since meeting with global mobility leaders at ITS World Congress in Montreal last year, Gov. Rick Snyder has signed collaborative Memorandums of Understanding with the governments of the UK, the Netherlands and the Austrian state of Styria to collaborate on the development and testing of advanced automotive technologies.
Earlier this week as part of his investment mission in China, Gov. Snyder signed an MOU with the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China to further advance innovation and cooperation within the automotive and technology sectors, including new energy and autonomous vehicle technologies.
Calley was joined at ITS World Congress by a delegation from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, including CEO Jeff Mason, and the Michigan Department of Transportation. Michigan’s efforts at the conference also promoted PlanetM, the state of Michigan’s mobility-focused brand and business development program.
This trip is the 30th foreign investment mission led by the Snyder administration, and the first to Denmark. Other missions led by Snyder or Lt. Gov. Brian Calley have included China, France, Japan, South Korea, Canada, the Netherlands, Brazil, Mexico, Latvia, Israel, Chile, Colombia, India, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Austria, and the United Kingdom.
Overall, 406 foreign direct investment projects were created in Michigan between January 2011 and August 2018, resulting in 51,596 jobs. Those projects generated a total capital investment of $12.7 billion. Additionally, Michigan saw a 24-percent increase in international travel spending from 2011-2017, with international travel spending in Michigan hitting $2.2 billion in 2017.
ITS World Congress is an annual event, rotating between Europe, the Asia Pacific Region and the Americas, where experts present the latest ITS solutions and mobility technologies. Stakeholders have an opportunity to discuss technologies and policies that have the potential to create a positive impact on people across the globe.
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