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We’re still a long way away from seeing fully autonomous vehicles at our local dealership, but Nissan wants to make rush hour less tedious for their next gen Qashqai owners with ProPilot.
Nissan is offering the first version of ProPilot, Traffic Jam Pilot, as an option for their popular SUV model and it’s actually affordable.
Takashi Shirakawa, senior vice president of Nissan Technical Centre in Europe, told Auto Express: “In Japan the option (already sold on the Nissan Serena], is around 200,000 Yen ($1,760), so it could sell it for around £1,500 ($1,910) in the UK.”
The ProPilot system will control the vehicle’s acceleration, braking, and steering on a single lane. Essentially it is like an advanced version of cruise control that can track the vehicle on front of it and adjust according.
There will be improved versions down the road as the second and third variations of the ProPilot should be released by the turn of the decade. The second variation will be able to automatically change lanes and overtake vehicles on the highway, while the third will be more city orientated.
Unfortunately, those who purchase a Qashqai with the first version of ProPilot will not be able to upgrade to the newer systems as different sensors are required.
"The second and third generations will use different kinds of sensors. The ProPilot One uses cameras to identify traffic ahead of vehicles, there may be a software in the future, but these cameras cannot allow for more advanced autonomy like overtaking on motorways. Our product is quite different from Tesla's. Tesla is premium price", said Shirakawa.
For now, ProPilot One will be available with the Qashqai, but it’ll be offered across the Nissan range of vehicles in the future.