A self-driving Nissan LEAF electric car began driving on London, England, streets February 27, part of the Japanese company's first European tests of an autonomous vehicle.

Nissan began testing an electric autonomous vehicle in London.Britain recently announced changes to allow for a single insurance policy to cover motorists driving conventionally and in autonomous mode as it tries to get regulations in place to encourage the uptake of driverless cars beginning in 2020.

The Reuters news agency says that Nissan worked with regulator Transport for London and the police ahead of the trials, supplying details of its route and the rules it would follow. The automaker was advised to keep a full log that it would share in the event of an incident.

Nearly two dozen cameras, radars and lasers are fitted on the top and around the side of vehicle to guide its path.

Nissan has already tested the self-driving LEAF in Tokyo and Silicon Valley. It reportedly hopes to carry out similar trials in other European cities soon after the London trials.

Two years ago, the UK government said it wanted to take a "light touch, non-regulatory approach" to trials of autonomous vehicles.