Sunderland’s Nissan plant is the UK’s largest ever automotive assembly plant – producing more than a third of all cars built in the UK. The 5G CAL pilot aimed to solve the challenge of safely and efficiently delivering car parts from Vantec, to Nissanalong a private road infrastructure. Partners on this project included the North East Automotive Alliance, Sunderland City Council, Streetdrone, Newcastle University and Coventry University.
Sunderland City Council and its partners developed and deployed the UK’s first zero-emissions, 5G-connected, automated logistics vehicle delivering car parts from Vantec to the Sunderland Nissan plant.
The project has enabled remote supervision of HGV’s, proving operational efficiencies and improved productivity. The pilot has also revealed future opportunities for UK manufacturers to increase supply chain resilience, improve competitiveness, attract investment and advance Net Zero for heavy goods vehicles.