Nissan Makes Partial Driving Automation Standard Across Its Lineup

Nissan has decided that basic automated driving technology will ship as standard equipment on its future vehicles, a move reported by Nikkei Asia. Rather than selling the feature as an add-on, the automaker plans to build it into new models as they are introduced or refreshed — though regions lacking suitable highway markings may be left out.

The entry-level version, known as Pro Pilot 1.0, builds on adaptive cruise control by using radar to match the speed of the car ahead. The more advanced Pro Pilot 2.0, developed alongside Intel’s Mobileye, adds lane keeping and lane-change support and will arrive first on the new Nissan Ariya and other pricier models. Mobileye’s technology already appears in tens of millions of vehicles across dozens of brands.

Tesla charted similar territory by including Autopilot hardware on every car since late 2016 and making the software standard from April 2019, while charging extra to unlock its unfinished Full Self-Driving package. Nissan’s approach differs in key ways: it won’t retrofit existing models, keeps steering assistance limited to higher trims, and offers no over-the-air updates, so improvements depend on dealer visits. Unlike Tesla, Nissan stops short of promising that today’s cars will ever drive themselves.

Even with those caveats, the decision puts pressure on rival automakers to treat driver assistance as a baseline expectation rather than a luxury upsell.