Nissan’s ProPILOT Assist Success Just The Beginning, Company Says

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The customers like it, and, with 120,000 vehicles featuring the ProPILOT technology sold globally, Nissan is pretty happy, too. The hands-on driver-assist system helps drivers stay centered in their lane, navigate stop-and-go traffic, and maintain a set vehicle speed and distance to the vehicle ahead. Sure, it’s meant to have a driver’s hands on the wheel, but this spiffier version of adaptive cruise control is really to reduce driver fatigue when the miles add up, anyway.
Nissan ProPILOT

The ProPILOT Assist technology has been such a hit that Nissan intends to add it to other models. In the US, it will be the Nissan Rogue Sport, which is the top-selling Nissan model in the States. Beginning in late 2018, Canadians will be able to purchase the Qashqai with ProPILOT Assist.

Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa talked about the excitement and success of the ProPILOT Assist during the company’s fiscal year 2017 financial results announcement.

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Iconic ProPILOT Part of Nissan’s Long Term Planning

The ProPILOT Assist technology was first introduced in 2016 with the Nissan Serena minivan, which was only available in the Japanese market. And that was only the beginning. The popular 100% electric Nissan LEAF, the European-market Qashqai, the X-Trail in Japanese, and the Rogue — the ProPILOT Assist has fared well and is now to be featured on the upcoming all-new 2019 Nissan Altima sedan.

The company anticipates that it will expand the semi-autonomous driving system technology in coming years to include 20 models and 20 markets by the end of 2022 as part of Nissan’s “M.O.V.E. to 2022” business plan, which adds new hybrids and electric cars to its catalogue. Nissan hopes to sell one million electrified models, including both hybrids and all-electric cars, and expects electrified models to make up 20 to 30% of its US sales by 2025.

“ProPILOT Assist is an iconic technology for Nissan Intelligent Mobility, Nissan’s vision of how vehicles are powered, driven and integrated into society,” said Philippe Klein, Nissan’s chief planning officer. “Its acceptance by consumers has been beyond expectations, and we’re pleased to expand its availability to more popular models such as Altima, X-Trail and Rogue Sport.”

Nissan considers its driver assist to be “the foundation for the autonomous vehicles of the future.” It’s all done with a simple, intuitive two-button operation. To activate the system, the driver simply pushes the ProPILOT Assist button on the steering wheel and then sets the Intelligent Cruise Control when the desired speed is reached.

Designed to be more intuitive and user-friendly than other driver-assist technologies, according to Nissan, the ProPILOT can potentially create a more confident highway driving  experience.  At a time in which so many companies are claiming trend-setting successes with driver aids and Tesla’s Autopilot problems continue, he Nissan ProPilot Assist may offer what drivers really need right now: a way to alleviate the burden of boring driving.


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Carolyn Fortuna

Carolyn Fortuna, PhD, is a writer, researcher, and educator with a lifelong dedication to ecojustice. Carolyn has won awards from the Anti-Defamation League, The International Literacy Association, and The Leavey Foundation. Carolyn is a small-time investor in Tesla and an owner of a 2022 Tesla Model Y as well as a 2017 Chevy Bolt. Please follow Carolyn on Substack: https://carolynfortuna.substack.com/.

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