Nissan and DeNA will begin testing a self-driving taxi service in Japan next month

Nissan Motor and DeNA announced today that field tests #of Easy Ride, the #self-driving #taxi service they developed together, will begin next month in Japan. This means that Nissan and DeNA now rank among Uber, Lyft, GM, Didi Chuxing and other companies pioneering self-driving taxi pilots, with the goal of launching commercially within the next few years.

DeNA is a Tokyo-headquartered online services company that is probably best known outside of Japan for a partnership with Nintendo that has produced mobile games like “Fire Emblem Heroes.” Its other services, however, encompass a wide range of verticals, including e-commerce, entertainment, healthcare, social networking and #automotive tech. Two years ago, DeNA launched its first production #vehicles with French #autonomous vehicle company EasyMile, which are used to provide a #driverless shuttle service called Robot Shuttle in Japanese cities.

Easy Ride’s first field test will begin on March 5 in Yokohama, the city to the south of Tokyo where Nissan’s global headquarters are located. Its self-driving taxis, which the companies call “robo-vehicles,” will take passengers along a 4.5 kilometer set route between the Yokohama World Porters shopping center and Nissan’s corporate complex. During the ride, passengers can try out Easy Ride’s concierge features by using […]

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