The region has a proven track record in delivering Connected Autonomous Mobility (CAM) pilots, across logistics and passenger transport and an ambition to develop the North East as a Centre of Excellence for CAM.  

Logistics

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 autonomously from Vantec to Nissan along a private road infrastructure.

A leading industry consortium  developed and deployed the UK’s first zero-emissions, 5G-connected, autonomous logistics HGV vehicle delivering car parts from Vantec to the Sunderland Nissan plant. The project enabled remote supervision of HGV’s, proving operational efficiencies and improved productivity.

The project led to a successful bid, V-CAL which secured additional funding for scale-up and scale-out activity.

A further successful bid is in delivery P-CAL which focuses on autonomous logistics at the Port of Tyne.

More information:

• Watch: See the 5G CAL autonomous HGV in action
• Read: Ground-breaking pilot puts 5G technology in the driving seat
• Read: NE based consortium completes UK’s first autonomous HGV pilot
• Read: UK’s first zero emission automated logistics HGV trials in North East
• Read: Auto-trucks, roll out
• Read: V-CAL – Deployment of connected and autonomous logistics
• Read: P-CAL – North East Automotive Alliance (NEAA)

Passenger Transport

The Sunderland Advanced Mobility Shuttle (SAMS)

Project started to reimagine Sunderland’s transport infrastructure with a 5G-connected, autonomous shuttle bus, transporting passengers across the city and increasing connectivity between a key transport interchange and two high-volume destinations: the University of Sunderland City Campus and Sunderland Royal Hospital, via an Intelligent Transport Corridor (ITC). The project paved the way for future commercial use, The trial tested the feasibility and commercial viability of autonomous shuttles complementing other modes of public transport. It ran successfully for the first three months of 2025 and delivered a business case which determined the commercial and financial viability of delivering CA services to supplement traditional modes of public transport.

Explore our dedicated page for Sunderland Advanced Mobility Shuttle  A further funding bid has been submitted SAMS-Xtra which if successful, provides the region with the opportunity to demonstrate, a cutting-edge autonomous bus service in Sunderland’s busy city centre, complemented by an autonomous crew-bus service in Nisan’s world class assembly plant. This Project extends the region’s leadership in the deployment of autonomous vehicles.   https://www.sunderlandoursmartcity.com/sams/

Contact

Liz.stlouis@sunderland.gov.uk