Driverless taxi: Nissan promises launch in 2027 – 02/28/2024 – Tech

Nissan announced this Wednesday (28) that it plans to launch an autonomous taxi service in Japan from April 2027.

The company said it will begin testing the commercial service in April next year, using minivans in an area of ​​Yokohama, south of Tokyo.

“Local communities have faced difficulties in their mobility, such as a shortage of drivers, due to the aging of their population,” said Nissan in a statement.

The company will work with local authorities and transport operators on the project to “offer a wide range of new services that enable free mobility”.

The Japanese government has prioritized the acceleration of this technology, given the shortage of workers and the aging of its population, which requires transportation.

Since last year, Japanese traffic laws have allowed a “level 4” of vehicle autonomy on public roads under certain conditions.

Vehicle autonomy is classified on a scale of 0 to 5, where 5 is full autonomy.

Japanese Honda, American General Motors and its autonomous driving unit Cruise announced a joint project to offer transport services in autonomous vehicles from 2026 in Japan.

Toyota would also be planning to launch a level 4 autonomy service in a reduced area of ​​Tokyo this year.

In October last year, Cruise announced the suspension of sales of the autonomous car following accidents involving the model.