London to Become a Testing Arena for Nissan Automated Cars

Japanese car manufacturer Nissan is set to test autonomous vehicles on the streets of London.

The company said next month it will take selected individuals for rides in an electric Nissan Leaf car around a fixed route in the capital city of the UK. To guarantee the safety of the passengers, a driver will be present in the cars at all times.

Nissan is focused on bringing self-driving features to the mass market. The company said the technology will be available "at realistic prices for consumers" and pledged to produce multiple affordable, energy efficient vehicles with autonomous capability by 2020.

Experts say the self-driving vehicle market will be worth some $1.1 trillion within the next decade, and technology giants such as Google and Tesla are in a rush to upgrade their own autonomous car technologies.

At CES 2017, Ford showcased its next generation Fusion Hybrid self-driving car, and Faraday Future unveiled its flagship electric vehicle FF 91, which demonstrated successful self-parking outside of the presentation center.

Within this climate, self-driving technology has seen a significant upswing in investment interest during the past few years. However, safety concerns still raise controversy in the international community, fueled by accidents such as last year's fatal crash of a Tesla Model S car with an activated Autopilot system.