Nissan and Sonatus deploy AI tools for vehicle development
Nissan Technical Centre Europe (NTCE) is partnering with US-based software company Sonatus to apply AI tools for vehicle development, targeting shorter fault-finding cycles and more data-driven validation. The collaboration links a bespoke data collection setup at NTCE in Cranfield, UK, with Sonatus’ Collector AI and AI Technician to analyse real-time and historical vehicle data.
Nissan targets faster test cycles with AI diagnostics
The NTCE team is using a dedicated vehicle data collection tool to feed Sonatus’ AI pipeline, harvesting signals from sensors, ECUs and onboard diagnostics. The AI layer is designed to automatically flag irregularities, potential failures and operational inefficiencies, then feed engineers with alerts and suggested focus areas, potentially trimming manual triage time.
Nissan reports that early trials point to a reduction in investigation time from around two weeks to roughly two days, while also reducing reliance on physical test vehicles. This aligns with the company’s RE:Nissan recovery plan, which emphasises more digital-first engineering using simulation, advanced testing and smart data to compress overall development cycles.
Commenting on the announcement, David Moss, Senior Vice President, Research and Development, Nissan Africa, Middle East, India, Europe and Oceania (AMIEO) said: “Our collaboration with Sonatus is a clear demonstration of Nissan’s commitment to innovation and adaptability.
“The role of AI is clear, to act as a tool for our engineers and not a direct replacement. Using their years of expertise and the AI tool, our engineers will be able to investigate and act quickly on ensuring our products and technologies are ready for customers sooner with zero compromise on quality. Working together will allow us to deliver an enhanced customer experience and maintain competitiveness in a rapidly evolving market”.
Data-driven validation for future EV platforms
Nissan plans for AI tools for vehicle development to become a core part of its testing programme, including for upcoming models such as the all-electric LEAF and the next JUKE. For European engineers working on ECUs, data acquisition, OTA architectures and test automation, this kind of setup illustrates how OEMs may expect test environments, log formats and diagnostic interfaces to evolve over the next product cycle.
Sonatus positions its contribution around smarter data collection and workflow automation for complex software-defined vehicles. “Our collaboration with NTCE reflects a shared commitment to an AI-driven future” said Alexandre Corjon, Senior Vice President and Technical Fellow for Sonatus.
“By enabling smarter data collection and accelerating digital development workflows, Sonatus is enabling teams to deliver complex systems with greater speed and precision. NTCE is demonstrating how forward-thinking engineering can redefine vehicle development and set a new benchmark for automotive innovation.”
NTCE and Sonatus plan to demonstrate their AI tools for vehicle development at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, showcasing live examples of intelligent data collection and AI-driven diagnostics. For the wider supply chain, this potentially hints at closer integration between vehicle telemetry, backend analytics and test engineering, an area where Tier-1s and tool vendors may see growing demand.
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