Nissan Leaf hatchbacks are being used as self-driving tow trucks at the company's factory in Oppama, Japan.

These specially developed EVs are part of the plant's trial Intelligent Vehicle Towing (IVT) system, which tows trollies of finished cars from the end of the assembly line to the factory's integrated port.

Unlike regular automated delivery systems, the IVT setup doesn't require special physical infrastructure, such magnetic tape or rails, to function. Instead, each car in the fleet is fitted with an array of cameras and laser scanners that can see and detect lane markings, curbs, cars, people and other objects.

There's also an on-board map and a predefined driving route, which can be easily changed as variations in the plant's production and transportation needs dictate

The fleet of autonomous Leafs are connected to a central traffic monitoring system, which keeps track of the location of each self-driving tow car, their speed, status, and remaining battery. It also handles which autonomous vehicle should give way if two should meet at an intersection.