Nissan Motor is entering what may be one of the most crucial phases in its modern history. Under its new chief executive officer, Ivan Espinosa, the Japanese automaker is pushing ahead with a bold effort to rebuild both its reputation and its business performance.
At the heart of this strategy lies not only a refreshed line-up of vehicles, but also a renewed emphasis on technological innovation — the very battleground where the competition is fiercest.
The spotlight falls on Nissan’s latest driver-assistance technology, an advanced evolution of its ProPilot system, which the company plans to launch before March 2028.
While Japan’s second-largest automaker has endured turbulent years marked by leadership shakeups and lagging sales in some segments, the new ProPilot aims to position Nissan as a frontline contender in the global race toward autonomous mobility.
Partnership that signals intent
To achieve this ambitious leap, Nissan has turned to Wayve Technologies, a UK-based artificial intelligence startup backed by SoftBank Group. The collaboration, first unveiled in April this year, represents a milestone not just for Nissan, but for the auto industry as a whole: this is the first time a major global automaker has committed to integrating Wayve’s AI-driven autonomous tech into production vehicles.
Wayve’s attraction lies in its unorthodox approach. Unlike traditional systems that rely heavily on mapping and sensor redundancy, its technology uses end-to-end AI software that can interpret and respond to real-world road conditions in a manner closer to human-like situational awareness.
This means Nissan’s upcoming ProPilot will require fewer cameras and sensors while still being capable of navigating highly complex city environments — a major step forward from the current freeway-focused versions.
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ProPilot versus Tesla FSD
The comparison with Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) is unavoidable, and Nissan isn’t shying away from it. “We think ours is smarter than Tesla FSD, just not as polished as a product,” admitted Tetsuya Iijima, general manager of Nissan’s assisted-driving engineering department, during a recent prototype demonstration in Tokyo.
For now, both systems remain Level 2 autonomy, requiring human supervision and the ability to intervene at any moment. Still, the marketing and technical battle between automakers at this stage is more about perception and positioning than technological classification. Tesla remains the household name, but Nissan is staking a claim that its AI-driven approach, in partnership with Wayve, is better suited for scalable, real-world use.
Aging demographics, regulation
And yet, Nissan faces a uniquely Japanese paradox. On one hand, its aging and shrinking population is creating urgent social and economic pressures that could benefit immensely from autonomous-driving services. Fewer taxi drivers and a booming need for mobility solutions for senior citizens position ride-hailing and driver-assist technology as a practical, even necessary, innovation.
On the other hand, Japanese regulatory frameworks are among the most stringent in the world. Unlike parts of China or the United States, Japanese road laws require that every vehicle on public roads have a human driver fully attentive at the wheel.
In other words, even though Nissan’s upcoming ProPilot may be theoretically capable of handling urban traffic with little to no input, regulations will still mandate steady driver oversight.
That hasn’t deterred Nissan. The company is already planning to roll out a ride-share service based on autonomous vehicles by 2027, betting that societal needs will push lawmakers and regulators to eventually relax restrictions.
China and global competition
Nissan’s ambitions, however, will need to be viewed through the lens of global competition — and in this arena, Japanese automakers are playing catch-up.
China stands as the most advanced market in robotaxi technology. Companies like Baidu’s Apollo Go and Pony.ai are already running widespread pilot programmes in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, with customers actively hailing rides on Level 4 autonomous vehicles that function without human drivers on board.
Backed by the full weight of government incentives, regulatory support, and concentrated investment, Chinese firms are consolidating their lead not only domestically but also increasingly abroad, particularly in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, in the US, Alphabet-backed Waymo continues to expand its autonomous taxi operations, logging millions of driverless miles across cities like Phoenix and San Francisco. Against this backdrop, Nissan’s partnership with Wayve appears to be as much about catching up as it is about carving out a differentiated angle.
Long road to level 5
Despite years of hype and billions in research funding, Level 5 autonomy — a world where cars drive themselves in all circumstances without human intervention — remains elusive. Engineering complexity, safety verification, and regulatory approval are hurdles that still loom large.
That hasn’t dampened optimism at Nissan. Executives believe their partnership with Wayve could represent a meaningful step toward practical autonomy.
“Its situational awareness is close to human,” Iijima said during the Tokyo prototype demonstration.
“I believe this technology will change lives.”
Such confidence is grounded in the reality that even modest advancements in autonomous driving have significant everyday benefits.
From reducing the burden of traffic congestion to improving transportation options for those unable to drive, systems like ProPilot — even at Level 2 or Level 3 — can bring tangible improvements to quality of life.
Nissan’s opportunity
The question, ultimately, is not whether Nissan can leapfrog Tesla or keep pace with Baidu and Waymo in terms of raw autonomy, but whether it can craft a distinctly Nissan-shaped solution to today’s transportation challenges.
By leaning on Wayve’s AI and embedding it into its production models, Nissan is betting that customers don’t simply want flashy technology — they want technology that feels human, intuitive, and trustworthy.
For Espinosa and his leadership team, the challenge is clear: make Nissan a name associated not with corporate turmoil or playing catch-up, but with accessible, intelligent mobility in a rapidly evolving automotive landscape.
If Nissan can deliver on that promise, the new ProPilot system may truly mark the beginning of a smarter future — one that balances ambition with pragmatism, and innovation with societal need.
