Nissan Motor on Wednesday gave the a preview of its new auto-driving system that will be offered by the Japanese automaker when the Serena minivan debuts in the domestic market in late August. The ProPilot system is designed for highway use in single-lane traffic. It can handle steering, acceleration and braking on its own, even when there is congestion.

"With autonomous driving technologies, we offer comfort and peace of mind," Executive Vice President Hideyuki Sakamoto said. "We want to propose new value" to society, he added.

A camera attached to the upper part of the windshield allows the system to track the car in front and lane line markers together to maintain appropriate distance from the car ahead. Drivers can choose a speed between 30kph and 100kph, in 5kph increments, and specify a desired distance from the preceding car, such as 30 meters, 45 meters and 60 meters, when the vehicle moves at 100kph. When this reporter tried it on a test course, the ride felt similar to regular driving, with the vehicle stopping smoothly with plenty of room to spare when the car in front stopped.

Mercedes-Benz and Tesla Motors have offered comparable features in their products, mainly high-end vehicles. Nissan is different in that it employs the system in a minivan in order to appeal to a broad array of consumers. The new Serena is expected to start at between 2.5 million yen and 3 million yen ($23,932 and $28,719).

The Japanese company plans to apply the technology in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle set to debut in Europe next year, and intends to also introduce the system in the U.S. and China.