Nissan Doubles Fleet for Autonomous Mobility Service Trial Ahead of Level 4 Launch in FY2027

Nissan Motor Co. announced on September 14, 2026, that it will expand its autonomous mobility service trial, doubling the fleet from five vehicles in FY2025 to 10 in FY2026. The initiative looks ahead to the launch of a Level 4 service in FY2027. The trial will take place in two phases from October 1 to December 18, 2026, in the urban areas of Minato Mirai, Osanbashi and Kannai in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture.

Nissan’s increase to 10 vehicles in FY2026 can be seen as an effort to expand its operational framework ahead of a Level 4 service. The involvement of KDDI, Moplus and Premier Aid in an operations-support framework shows that the trial’s evaluation is not limited to vehicle performance.

The focus of this move is not simply that Nissan is continuing its autonomous driving trials, but that it has doubled the fleet from five vehicles in FY2025 to 10 in FY2026. The numbers point to a larger trial, but the program remains a service evaluation using Level 2 vehicles; its role as a preparatory stage for a Level 4 launch in FY2027 has not changed. In other words, the main focus appears to be how much Nissan can build up its urban operating processes, rather than on a new business proposition. A related article from this newspaper, Nissan Serena-based autonomous driving development vehicle to begin test runs in Tokyo in early September, covered test runs in Tokyo. The Yokohama trial differs in that, while it also uses Serena-based vehicles, it shifts the emphasis toward testing closer to actual service operations in ordinary urban areas. With Nissan’s development driving in Tokyo and service trial in Yokohama running in parallel, the company appears to be treating vehicle development and operations planning as connected stages rather than separate processes. From an industry perspective, the trial highlights the importance of combining operational infrastructure, including remote monitoring, communications and passenger support, rather than focusing solely on vehicle performance. KDDI, Moplus and Premier Aid are said to handle communications, support and remote assistance, respectively, showing that an autonomous driving service cannot be delivered by a vehicle manufacturer alone. Questions to be addressed ahead of Level 4 include how close operations can get to routine service with 10 vehicles, how operating conditions will change between the two trial phases, and how extensively the service can operate without drivers when it launches in FY2027. The trial is also limited to the urban areas of Minato Mirai, Osanbashi and Kannai. The focus going forward therefore appears to be not expansion to suburbs or other cities, but how to assess operational density, the passenger experience and the reliability of remote assistance within the same area. Whether Level 4 service can be introduced will depend not only on increasing the number of vehicles, but also on developing specific operating rules based on the trial results.

In Japan, vehicle manufacturers pursuing autonomous driving are likely to need to determine how to design operations that include communications, remote monitoring and passenger support. Nissan’s trial shows one form of this division of responsibilities, making the development of operational support functions beyond the vehicle itself an issue for the existing automotive industry.