A new report claims that Nissan is in final negotiations with Uber Technologies as the pair discuss working together on the deployment of autonomous vehicles for ride-hailing services, a market that Tesla wants to dominate with its Cybercab. According to Automotive News, Nissan is collaborating with Wayve Technologies—Uber has invested in Wayve AI—on artificial intelligence-powered self-driving tech. The news was first brought to light by Nikkei Asia, and it could be a big deal for Nissan, which has been facing financial troubles and dealing with a failed merger with Honda, as the autonomous vehicle market could expand to the tune of $2 trillion by 2030. If successful, the self-driving tech could even come to many of the vehicles Nissan sells here in the U.S.
Nissan Wants a Slice of the Autonomous Driving Pie
According to the report, Nissan and Wayve intend to launch vehicles equipped with next-generation ProPilot hands-free autonomous driving technology during the 2027 fiscal year, which means North America and Japan could benefit by early 2028. The tech is expected to be compatible with several of Nissan USA’s most popular models, including the Armada, the Pathfinder, and the Rogue, covering the full-size, midsize, and compact segments, respectively. This widespread proliferation would be especially useful since today’s Level 2 ProPilot tech is very similar to Tesla’s misleadingly branded Full Self-Driving system, requiring the driver to focus on the road and be ready to take over control of the vehicle, and the more the neural network is trained in the real world, the better the tech can become.
Related: BMW, Hyundai, and Nissan Top the 2026 World Car Awards
If things work out with Uber, Nissan’s tech would benefit from being integrated with a massive fleet of ride-hailing vehicles, thus expanding the training of the neural network quickly, rather than relying on customers to adopt the technology. That said, Nissan’s benefits would be relatively limited, since Uber has partnerships with other automakers, including Lucid Motors, whose Gravity was exhibited with a roof-mounted sensor array (like those seen on Waymo Jaguar I-Pace vehicles) at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.
Why Nissan’s Potential Deal with Uber Matters to American Consumers
Nissan has several good products—its Leaf just took top honors in the Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year awards— but its existence in the post-Carlos Ghosn era has been fraught with financial challenges, and they’re not lessening in 2026; a data breach recently cost Nissan $1.5 million, and it’s been forced to cut costs and jobs worldwide. The automaker has also been lagging in the EV race, and it may need Honda’s help to find an edge in the hybrid space. But if it can be at the cutting edge of autonomous driving technology thanks to a partnership with Uber, that profitable market could provide access to millions or even billions of dollars, money that could be used to regain its footing and develop exciting new products. With some extra cash, a new GT-R or Silvia could even be worth investing in to give the automaker both a halo and an attainable sports car, boosting brand cache.
