Nissan announced on Thursday its plan to commercialize its autonomous driving mobility services by fiscal year 2027 in Japan.
The project, which is another step in the Nissan Ambition 2030 strategy to enhance mobility by solving transportation service issues faced by local communities in Japan, such as driver shortages resulting from an aging population, envisions the Japanese brand providing a wide range of new services, including autonomous driving.
For now, Nissan is conducting autonomous driving tests in the Minato Mirai area in Yokohama with an autonomous driving vehicle based on the Serena minivan, which will be completed by the end of fiscal year 2024.
In 2025 and 2026, demonstration tests of autonomous driving service will be conducted in the Yokohama area, including Minato Mirai, Sakuragi-cho, and Kannai, with a total of 20 vehicles (with a driver on board).
In fiscal year 2027, the Japanese brand aims to start autonomous driving mobility services in three to four municipalities, including rural areas, with dozens of vehicles.
During the trials, Nissan intends to gradually improve the level of autonomous driving while evaluating customer acceptance, with the goal of providing driverless services.
Recall that Nissan has been testing business models for mobility services in Japan and abroad since 2017, including a manned mobility service called Namie Smart Mobility that has been in operation since 2021. Outside of Japan, Nissan has been testing autonomous driving mobility in London and other areas with the support of the UK government.
