By Rina Ukita / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

Isuzu Motors Ltd. announced Tuesday it will conduct full-scale driving tests for self-driving large trucks in Japan starting January 2026.

The company aims to achieve practical application of Level 4 autonomous driving -- which will not require a human driver under certain conditions -- within fiscal 2027, competing with leading U.S. and Chinese firms in developing autonomous driving technology.

The tests will be conducted about five days a week on a route that connects the company's bases in Tochigi and Aichi prefectures. Initial runs will include self-driving tests on a section of the Shin-Tomei Express way in Shizuoka Prefecture, and a person will be in the driver's seat to monitor the truck.

The vehicles are based on the Giga heavy-duty truck and were jointly developed with a U.S. startup specializing in autonomous driving technology. In addition to seven cameras and other equipment, the vehicle incorporates artificial intelligence. The company plans to test 30 such vehicles on roads within fiscal 2026.

Isuzu showed to the press on Tuesday a test vehicle merging onto a mock highway on a test course in Hokkaido. During the test, the AI assessed the truck's surroundings, and the vehicle smoothly accelerated while maintaining an appropriate distance from other cars.

"AI is rapidly evolving," Hiroshi Sato, a senior executive officer of Isuzu Motors, told reporters. "Regarding the technology, the outlook appears reasonable."

Advancing autonomous driving for commercial vehicles is an urgent priority.

The number of people who hold driver's licenses for large vehicles, such as large trucks weighing 11 tons or more including cargo, has decreased by 500,000 over the past about 15 years, falling below 4 million in 2024. Concerns are mounting over a shortage of drivers to support the logistics network.

The government is also accelerating its response. In March, it established a self-driving vehicle priority lane on a section of the Shin-Tomei Expressway to support testing of such vehicles.

The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry has set a target to increase Level 4 autonomous driving taxis and trucks to 10,000 units by fiscal 2030.

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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.

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November 19, 2025 04:40 ET (09:40 GMT)

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