Nissan chooses London for first autonomous vehicle tests

Nissan will conduct its first European real-world trials of self-driving cars in London, the Japanese car maker has announced.
 
Passengers, including government officials and technical and safety experts, will be given the opportunity to experience and test the technology in a live environment in a modified Nissan LEAF.
 
These will be the first demonstrations of Nissan’s autonomous drive technology on public roads in Europe. This follows recent announcements that both the refreshed Qashqai and the new LEAF will be equipped with technology to enable single lane autonomous driving on motorways.
 
The announcement was made following a visit to the Nissan Technical Centre Europe (NTCE) in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, by the Rt Hon Greg Clark, the UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
 
NTCE is the European R&D hub for Nissan, and is developing autonomous drive technologies as well as new advanced fuel, energy and efficiency technologies in collaboration with the Nissan Technical Centre and Advanced Technical Centre in Japan.

Paul Willcox, Chairman, Nissan Europe, said: “It was our pleasure to welcome the Secretary of State to the Nissan Technical Centre Europe in Cranfield and to show him how we don’t just make great cars in the UK, we create future technology here too.
 
“Innovation and ingenuity is at the heart of the Nissan brand and its people. We’ve been developing that pioneering spirit for over half a century in Europe and for over 30 years in Britain. With future models secured and cutting-edge innovation being developed right here in the UK, we’re looking forward to a strong future of designing, engineering and manufacturing in the country for customers right across the world.”
 
He added: “In just a few weeks’ time, there will be Nissan LEAFs driving on the streets of London using our autonomous driving technology. Nissan Intelligent Mobility is happening right now, right here in the UK and across Europe.”