Nissan hones its autonomous driving tech

Nissan has shown off the capabilities of its evolving autonomous driving technology on the streets of Yokohama as it continues toward its goal of rolling out autonomous mobility solutions by the Japanese fiscal year 2027 (ending March 2028).

A modified Nissan LEAF prototype fitted with 14 cameras, 10 radars and 6 LIDAR sensors can be seen calmly negotiating the busy streets of Yokohama, predicting the behaviour of pedestrians, conducting lane changes and merging, and judging when it’s safe to enter an intersections.

But rather than being fully driverless, the LEAF has two Nissan technicians onboard to oversee proceedings in the name of safety.

“Nissan has been studying business models for future mobility services since fiscal year 2017,” said the Japanese car-maker.

“While the current demonstration is being conducted at SAE Level 2 equivalent with a safety driver present, the company aims to continue to expand functionality and to begin offering autonomous-drive mobility services within Japan, starting in fiscal year 2027, working with third parties such as local authorities and transport operators.”

The demonstration was conducted on the streets immediately surrounding Nissan’s global headquarters and the company has plans for a trip further afield to the Minato Mirai area in the fourth quarter of this year.

Demonstration tests are planned for fiscal year 2025, during which the level of autonomy will be gradually increased.

It’s unclear which models will be launched with the new self-driving tech come 2027, but odds are it will be one of Nissan’s next-generation EVs previewed recently by the Hyper series of concept vehicles.

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