TOKYO: Nissan Motor Company has tested self-driving vehicles in Yokohama, marking Japan’s first autonomous car trial in regular city traffic, Kyodo News reported.
The company aims to use data from the tests to develop autonomous driving services to address driver shortages in public transportation.
Journalists rode in modified Nissan Serena minivans on a four-kilometre route linking Nissan’s Yokohama headquarters to a waterfront entertainment area.
The vehicles navigated intersections, avoided obstacles, and obeyed speed limits, using 29 cameras for real-time surroundings analysis.
While the minivans operate at Level 2 autonomy – steering and accelerating independently but allowing human intervention – Nissan plans to introduce Level 4 autonomous vehicles by fiscal 2027.
Public trials are set for September and October in Yokohama, with further tests in three to four regional areas by 2027.
“This is a first step toward automation that lets us experience the future,” said Kazuhiro Doi, Nissan’s corporate VP of research. – BERNAMA
