Home to Tesla’s headquarters, Apple and Google’s self-driving projects, and research and development offices for many OEMs, California is fast becoming “a global center for personal mobility,” according to the L.A. Times.
The number of auto jobs has grown in the state more than 25% since 2011, according to data from the California Employment Development Department. Still, the 47,000 employed in the auto industry in California is but a fraction of the 326,000 auto industry workers in Detroit.
The downsides of Silicon Valley? High labor and real estate costs and complicated environmental regulation.
Ford now has 100 employees at its Silicon Valley office, researching human interaction with machines, testing software and running simulations of self-driving cars.
Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Nissan and auto suppliers Continental, Delphi and Denso also have outposts in the state.
