Japanese commercial vehicle manufacturer Isuzu Motors has announced the deployment of diesel and battery-powered Level 4 autonomous driving buses, using Nvidia’s Drive Hyperion computing platform, timed to coincide with this month’s Nvidia GTC 2026 global AI conference in San Jose, California.
Isuzu confirmed that the autonomous driving system combines Japan’s Tier IV Inc’s Level 4 software stack based on Autoware, an open-source software for autonomous driving, Isuzu’s advanced bus platforms, and Nvidia’s AI compute, to create Level 4 autonomous buses optimized for high-capacity public transit.
Isuzu said the deployment “marks a major step toward Tier IV and Isuzu’s ambitions to safely and scalably deploy autonomous transit.” The automaker confirmed that its next-generation autonomous transit vehicles will feature the Nvidia Drive AGX Thor system-on-chip on the Nvidia Drive Hyperion platform for “essential safety and performance redundancy.”
Tier IV founder and CEO, Shinpei Kato, said in a statement: “This collaboration marks a definitive milestone for autonomous transit. By fusing Isuzu’s legendary engineering with Nvidia’s Thor AI compute, we have built an unmatched foundation for Level 4 transit driven by Autoware. Unveiling this Level 4 autonomous bus deployment at NVIDIA GTC 2026 proves that when you combine world-class hardware with the power of the Autoware ecosystem, safe and scalable public transit is no longer a goal – it is a reality.”
Hiroshi Sato, senior executive officer and vice president at Isuzu’s Engineering Division, stated: “Our partnership with Tier IV and Nvidia represents a significant leap in commercial vehicle intelligence. Deploying Level 4 autonomous driving on both our Erga EV and diesel models ensures that we provide versatile, sustainable, and highly efficient solutions for any fleet. We are bringing Isuzu’s world-renowned reliability to the autonomous age, ensuring safe and high-performance transit at scale.”
Nvidia’s vice president of Automotive, Rishi Dhall, added “Tier IV and Isuzu are frontrunners in the public transit vertical, utilizing Nvidia Drive AGX Thor on the Drive Hyperion platform in the Isuzu Erga to power Tier IV’s Autoware-based Level 4 software stack. Their scalable solution addresses critical real-world needs, such as Japan’s national driver shortage, while delivering the operational rigor necessary for essential public services.”
