Nissan Begins Public Road Tests of Driverless Leaf
The Nissan Leaf will be the first vehicle in Japan to be tested on public roads with an Advanced Driver Assist System.
Nissan President and CEO Carlos Ghosn took delivery of the first license plate for a car equipped with highly-advanced driver assist systems. In other words, the Nissan Leaf is the first vehicle in Japan to be allowed to drive on public roads with self-driving driving technology. The Japanese automaker hopes that public testing will help accelerate the development of technologies fundamental to Autonomous Drive.
In the case of this particular Leaf, the system has been designed so that a driver can manually take control at any time. The license plate, which includes the number 2020, reflects Nissan’s goal of having self-driving vehicles available by 2020 – much like other automakers such as Daimler and GM.
Functions that this particular Nissan Leaf will be testing include: lane keeping, automatic exit, automatic lane change, automatic overtaking slower or stopped vehicles, automatic deceleration behind congestion on freeways and automatic stopping at red lights.
“This is an ordinary license plate for an extraordinary vehicle,” said Nissan president and CEO Carlos Ghosn. “A month ago we revealed to the world our 2020 Autonomous Drive target. Road testing of the underlying technologies is critical to maintaining our leadership position and we are grateful to the Government of Japan for its support.”
GALLERY: Nissan Leaf with Advanced Driver Assist Technology
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Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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