Autonomous Nissan LEAF hitting London roads next month

Nissan will begin autonomous vehicle demonstrations in Europe next month, with an autonomous Nissan LEAF out on London roads.

The future of autonomous cars is, in some part, about winning hearts and minds rather than, necessarily, the ability of the software which controls self-driving cars. 

With that on mind, it makes sense that Nissan is planning to bring the first autonomous cars on Europe’s road to the UK next month, with an autonomous Nissan LEAF hitting London’s roads, with ‘influential’ passengers getting a demonstration.

The influential getting the chance to go out in an autonomous LEAF to see just what it can do include government officials and technical and safety experts who will experience the autonomous technology in a live environment.

Although the LEAF being used is the current generation, it’s appropriate as Nissan has revealed that the 2018 LEAF and the refreshed Qashqai will come with autonomous driving abilities capable of single lane autonomous driving on motorways.

Greg Clark, Business and Energy Secretary, who visited the Nissan Technical Center Europe (NTCE) today, said:

Government and industry are working together to build on our world class reputation for excellence as a leading location for automotive R&D and manufacturing.

We want to see centres, like Nissan’s here in Cranfield, continue to develop, making us a world leader in the development and testing of auto technology so we can anchor the next generation of vehicle manufacturing and its supply chain here in the UK.

Greg Clark got a taste of the autonomous Leaf round the NTCE, but if he wants to go out on road in London next month he’ll have to get in the queue.