A consortium led by Nissan has successfully completed evolvAD, the UK’s most rigorous autonomous driving (AD) research project to date, marking a significant milestone in the development of autonomous mobility. The project builds on previous UK-based Nissan-backed initiatives, HumanDrive and ServCity, and is part of the company’s global vision for a safer, cleaner, and more inclusive transportation future.
evolvAD concludes an intensive eight-year research period, during which more than 16,000 autonomous miles were driven across UK motorways, urban centres, residential streets, and rural roads—all without a single accident.
“All three research projects have been tremendously successful in driving our knowledge and understanding of how AD technology performs across challenging driving environments,” said David Moss, senior vice president, region research & development for Nissan AMIEO (Africa, Middle East, India, Europe, and Oceania).
“It has been a privilege working with our dedicated partners to advance AD mobility. As well as making driving safer by reducing human error, and cleaner by improving efficiency, this technology can give many more people access to mobility who may not have it today due to location, age or disability.
“Our talented UK team at Nissan Technical Centre Europe in Cranfield will continue developing this technology, and we’re excited to bring AD mobility services to customers in the coming years.”
The successful completion of evolvAD paves the way for the next phase of AD deployment, focusing on assessing the readiness of cities and regions across the UK for autonomous vehicle systems and services. The project was jointly funded by the UK government and consortium partners, with backing from the £100m Intelligent Mobility fund, administered by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and delivered by Innovate UK.
Over 21 months, five industry partners—Nissan, Connected Places Catapult, Humanising Autonomy, SBD Automotive, and TRL—worked together to prepare the UK supply chain for the future mass deployment of AD technologies.
During evolvAD, connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) underwent extensive testing in simulators, on private test tracks, and ultimately on urban residential and rural roads, which presented unique challenges for AD systems. Nissan developed an advanced chassis control system to enhance braking and steering, ensuring the vehicles could handle narrow residential streets and high-speed rural roads with no lane markings. Additionally, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) technology was tested using CCTV systems to improve situational awareness and vehicle performance.
“Following the successful conclusion of evolvAD and previous projects, we are now shifting towards studying the readiness of the UK to introduce AD systems,” said Robert Bateman, evolvAD project manager and manager of Nissan’s research and advanced engineering team at Nissan Technical Centre Europe.
“Again, working with partners, we need to develop a 360-degree understanding of infrastructure and regulatory needs across the country, and provide critical insights to policy-makers and urban planners to ensure a successful introduction of AD mobility services in the right way and at the right time.”
Sarah Jones MP, minister for industry, highlighted the importance of the UK’s role in the autonomous vehicle sector. “The UK is home to a world-class automotive sector, and I’m pleased this project has brought autonomous vehicles one step closer to reality.
“Our Industrial Strategy will strengthen this industry, bringing growth, jobs and opportunities to every part of the UK.”
