ATSUGI (Kanagawa Pref.)

Nissan Motor Co. aims to streamline work on developing self-driving technologies by carrying out related tests using virtual spaces, an executive of the major Japanese automaker has said.

The move comes as Nissan seeks to accelerate sales of vehicles equipped with its “ProPilot” cutting-edge driver assistance system in overseas markets. At present, Nissan sells such vehicles in markets including Japan and the United States.

“We need to streamline self-driving car tests, which require an enormous amount of work in order to boost sales abroad,” Nissan Senior Vice President Takao Asami told Jiji Press.

The company will work on making it possible to “confirm safety and functions” of such vehicles by applying the results of a physical test conducted in one location to other locations using virtual technologies, he said. ProPilot enables hands-free driving on expressways.

Nissan aims to sell more than 1.5 million ProPilot-equipped vehicles by fiscal 2023. In some four years since vehicles with the ProPilot technology were first launched in 2016, however, cumulative sales have totaled only around 870,000 units.

Releasing such vehicles in more overseas markets and expanding the lineup are urgent tasks for the company.

Nissan is also trying to strengthen partnerships with information technology companies in the field of self-driving technology.

The automaker has been developing driverless or other self-driving vehicles in Japan and France in cooperation with Google-affiliated Waymo, and in China with Chinese startup WeRide.

“Tying up with local IT firms is essential” for bolstering overseas sales of self-driving vehicles, Asami said, indicating Nissan’s plans to form such partnerships also in other markets across the world.

JIJI Press