EvolvAD

Building upon previous Nissan research, evolvAD aimed to develop an AV capable of safely driving in residential, urban, and rural environments. The project partners focused on HD map generation and validation, alignment with multiple complex operational design domains (ODDs) and improving interactions in complex urban environments with vulnerable road users.

Published on 15 June 2026

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About EvolvAD 

  • UK Government-funded consortium project to further enhance autonomous drive capability and technically support supply chain readiness
  • Nissan contributed to the project aim by further establishing autonomous drive (AD) technology capability in the UK in collaboration with consortium partners
  • 100% electric Nissan LEAFs equipped with cutting-edge AD technology were put through their paces on urban residential and rural roads
  • evolvAD builds on successful Nissan-backed AD research projects, HumanDrive and ServCity, and contributes to the advancement of AD technologies at Nissan as the brand accelerates towards its Nissan Ambition 2030 long-term vision

Objectives 

The project aim was to enhance the UK’s autonomous drive capability and technically supporting the supply chain’s readiness for mass adoption. evolvAD  put Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV), through their paces on a variety of urban residential and complex rural roads. These types of roads present their own unique set of challenges for AD technology. For example, in residential areas, drivers often face narrows roads, single lanes with parked vehicles on either side and slow driving speeds. Rural roads can include similar conditions but with higher driving speeds and winding roads with little to no road markings.

Nissan was technical lead to a consortium of five industry partners: the Connected Places Catapult, Humanising Autonomy, SBD Automotive and TRL.

The research project was jointly funded by government and the consortium partners. The government's £100m Intelligent Mobility fund is administered by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and delivered by the UK's innovation agency, Innovate UK.

Over the course of 21 months, the evolvAD project used the combined expertise of the five partners to technically support UK supply chain readiness for future mass deployment of AD technologies in the UK. This comprises several focus areas designed to advance the UK’s autonomous drive capability including Nissan’s work to trial advanced AD technology in built-up residential areas in collaboration with TRL.

Utilising infrastructure such as CCTV in residential areas, the evolvAD CAVs were able to receive information to improve situational awareness, in test study on how vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) technologies can be used to enhance the performance of CAVs. The project also looked to develop new V2I technologies to further support the deployment of autonomous drive vehicles. Nissan trialled the technology on complex rural roads and explored what transport opportunities autonomous mobility can provide to A roads and minor roads that are mostly found within rural and intercity communities.

The project began in July 2023 using 100% electric Nissan LEAFs as the test vehicles. The vehicles were tested in simulation and on private test tracks before the evolvAD CAVs were put through their paces on live roads in London under the watchfull eye of the team at the TRL Smart Mobility Living Lab.

Through evolvAD, Nissan further enhanced its autonomous drive technology and capability by testing and trialling it in additional driving environments, building on the success of previous consortium AD research projects, HumanDrive and ServCity. Autonomous drive technology is key pillar within Nissan Ambition 2030, a long-term vision which will see the company strive to create a cleaner, safer and more inclusive world.

Outcomes after 16,000 autonomous miles driven with 0 accidents

The successful conclusion of evolvAD in 2025 prepared Nissan for the next phase of AD deployment, which will assess the readiness of cities and regions across the UK for the future introduction of AD systems and services.

Nissan is conducting ‘Autonomous mobility service’ research globally in Japan (Nissan Research Centre), the UK (Nissan Technical Centre Europe), and the US (Nissan Advanced Technology Centre, Silicon Valley). This includes the latest ‘Easy Ride’ Serena AD vehicle testing in Yokohama, Japan, where the company is aiming to launch autonomous mobility services.

evolvAD contributes to Nissan’s ongoing global development of autonomous mobility, sharing insights and data to understand how the technology can be tailored to perform safely across different driving conditions worldwide.

During evolvAD, Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs), went through the most rigorous testing of AD technology ever in the UK.

The mix of road types present unique challenges for AD technology, including low speed driving on narrow, single lane roads in urban residential areas. For higher speed routes on winding roads with no markings in rural areas, Nissan introduced a chassis control system for the AD vehicle to enhance the brakes and steering to allow it to perform as an Advanced Driver.

Using infrastructure such as CCTV on residential streets, the evolvAD CAVs received information to improve situational awareness, creating a unique test study on how vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) can be used to enhance the performance of CAVs, as well as developing all-new V2I technologies.

The evolvAD journey  

 

ServCity - hailing the future of mobility

 

 

Human Drive - Using machine learning to develop natural, human-like vehicle control

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