The price of IOT, the currency of the IOTA project, is up nearly 20% this week after the project announced the addition of former Volkswagen director Klaus Schaff to its advisory team.

Welcome Klaus Schaaf to the IOTA Foundationhttps://t.co/3n6TamUd2M#IOTA — IOTA (@iotatoken) July 2, 2018

In a statement accompanying the announcement, Schaaf shared his excitement in joining the IOTA Foundation, as well as his belief that the project’s Tangle technology could revolutionize transportation.

The automotive world is disrupted by new technologies like Software-over-the-Air, Function on Demand and Autonomous Driving. New Business Models will provide Mobility-as-a-Service. To support these disruptive technologies Distributed Ledger Technology will play a major role. IOTA and the Tangle provide a future oriented technology which is well suited for the requirements of the new Mobility ecosystem. I am excited to be part of the IOTA Foundation and to help building the pillars on which this ecosystem will rest.

Schaaf had previously worked as Volkswagen AG for almost 30 years, largely in R&D that focused on next-generation technologies. Notably, Schaff worked on new products and services within the Volkswagen Group Digitalisation, founded by IOTA supervisory board member Johann Jungwirth.

Earlier this year, Jungwirth announced that the Volkswagen had partnered with the IOTA foundation to explore ways in which the company could integrate IOTA’s project’s Tangle technology.

Since that time, Volkswagen has confirmed that Tangle was first going to be used as part of the Volkswagen Connect feature to enable drivers to better monitor their car’s mileage.

IOTA currently boasts a $3.2 billion market cap, ranking its coin the 9th most valued in the world, and the project recently released the much-anticipated beta for its Trinity mobile wallet.

Disclaimer: This article’s author has cryptocurrency holdings that can be tracked here. This article is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice. Always conduct your own due diligence before making investments.