The RDM Group (www.rdmgroup.co.uk) has been short-listed for an Automotive Award for Innovation by the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (www.smmt.co.uk), due to its work on the UK’s first self-driving vehicle.

The Coventry-based manufacturer is seen as playing “a crucial role” in the Transport Systems Catapult’s LUTZ Pathfinder project, which will trial three electric-powered ‘pods’ in pedestrianised areas of Milton Keynes.

Based on the Bilton Industrial Estate, the company has been involved in the ‘design and build’ of the driver-less vehicle, which can seat two people and is capable of travelling 40 miles at speeds up to 15mph.

The first pod is currently at the Oxford Mobile Robotics Group (MRG), awaiting installation of the autonomous vehicle technology.

David Keene, CEO of the RDM Group, said: “The SMMT Awards are extremely prestigious, and we’re delighted that our pioneering work with the LUTZ Pathfinder project is being recognised. This competition is judged by automotive and technology experts, and it generates massive international exposure that could secure our involvement in future initiatives.”

Steve Yianni, CEO of the Transport Systems Catapult, said: “It is great news that the LUTZ Pathfinder project has been short-listed for this award, as it’s a fantastic example of UK innovation.

“We have combined cutting-edge British design and manufacturing — in the form of the RDM Group — with the world-leading control system technology of Oxford’s MRG, and we are now working with Milton Keynes’ forward-thinking council to take self-driving vehicles out of the laboratory and into the real world.”