Nissan granted license to test self-driving cars on Japan’s public roads

Nissan has made its desire to bring autonomous vehicles to market abundantly clear, and now it’s picked up the necessary license to begin testing them on Japan’s public roads. As Wired reports, the automaker has been issued Japan’s first-ever license for a car with advanced driver assist systems. Fittingly enough, the license plate number is 2020, a nod to the year Nissan is hoping to have its fleet of vehicles ready for purchase. The car that received the honor is a special all-electric Leaf with extensive driver assist capabilities; without any driver input, the test Leaf can carry out movements like switching lanes, exiting highways, and stopping at red lights. “This is an ordinary license plate for an extraordinary vehicle,” said Nissan president and CEO Carlos Ghosn. “Road testing of the underlying technologies is critical to maintaining our leadership position and we are grateful to the government of Japan for its support.”