£2million-plus Nissan boost to develop driverless vehicles

Sunderland's Nissan plant is to share in a £2million-plus grant to boost the development of driverless vehicles.

The car giant is the lead partner in evolvAD, which aims to develop an autonomous vehicle (AV) capable of driving safely in residential, urban, and rural environments.

The partnership has been awarded a £2.3million grant as part of £18.5million in government funding being made available to strengthen the UK’s automated mobility supply chain and improve the safety and security of self-driving vehicles.

The grants, part of the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) Commercialising Connected and Automated Mobility: Supply Chain competition, will help 43 companies across 13 projects to develop self-driving technologies, products and services.

CCAV launched the Commercialising Connected and Automated Mobility (CCAM) programme to target early commercial self-driving vehicle opportunities last year and in February the Government announced the winners of its deployments competition.

Projects are now under way in Belfast, Edinburgh, Coventry and Cambridge, as well as Sunderland.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said: "From farm tractors fuelled by hydrogen to rapid-charge first responder motorcycles, these projects receiving funding today show we are not short of innovators in this country.

"By supporting growth in the industries of the future, including through better regulation, we are delivering on our plan to get the economy growing and make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business."

These projects will be delivered in partnership with CCAV’s delivery partners, Zenzic and Innovate UK to bring together government and industry to support the development of sovereign capabilities within the UK CAM supply chain.

Phillip Ironside, Head of Innovation & Programmes at Zenzic, added: “Zenzic is proud to support and facilitate these Supply Chain projects that are critical to delivering the UK Government's vision for Connected and Automated Mobility.

"Our vision foresees the early commercial deployment of self-driving vehicles by 2025 to improve the movement of people and goods.