Consumers in California and Nevada have ushered in a new era of autonomous driving. Mercedes-Benz has become the first automaker to sell monitoring-free autonomous vehicles to ordinary consumers in the United States. business. This L3 level autonomous driving technology called “Drive Pilot” allows drivers to shift their attention from driving to other activities if certain conditions are met.
Currently, the technology is only approved for sale in California and Nevada, where regulators have approved Mercedes-Benz’s Level 3 autonomous driving system. According to Fortune, as of April 11, there were 65 Drive Pilot-enabled Mercedes cars available for sale in California, and one of them has already been sold, marking the birth of California’s first surveillance-free self-driving car.
Unlike companies like Tesla that still offer Level 2 autonomous driving technology, Level 3 autonomous driving allows drivers to shift their attention to other activities in certain situations without constantly monitoring the vehicle. However, the technology also has limitations, such as being able to only be used on pre-approved routes and not being able to handle highways in other states.
Currently, this technology is only available on certain highway sections in California and Nevada during congestion periods, during the day, and when the speed limit is less than 40 miles per hour (Note: approximately 64.37 kilometers) per hour. When the vehicle is traveling on a non-pre-approved route, such as a highway in another state, the driver still needs to be alert and ready to take over the vehicle.
Still, Mercedes-Benz’s Level 3 self-driving system represents a major step forward for autonomous driving in the United States. Although companies such as Google’s Waymo and General Motors’ Cruise have more advanced Level 4 self-driving technology, they are currently only used to operate taxi services and do not sell vehicles to consumers.
The Drive Pilot system is available on the 2024 EQS sedan and S-Class sedan, and consumers can gain access to it through a $2,500 annual subscription fee. It is worth mentioning that Mercedes-Benz will start selling Level 3 autonomous vehicles in Germany as early as May 2022, with a three-year membership in the European market costing between 5,000 and 7,000 euros.
To make it easier for other road users to identify Mercedes vehicles in automated driving mode, their rearview mirrors, headlights and taillights will illuminate in special turquoise colour. Additionally, the Drive Pilot system is only available on models equipped with certain hardware, such as front-facing sensors and rear windshield cameras.
Mercedes-Benz is working on developing Level 4 autonomous driving technology and plans to bring it to the consumer market around 2030. Level 4 technology will enable an experience closer to fully autonomous driving, with the driver only having to take over the vehicle if the system fails. This means the technology must be able to safely cope with almost any unpredictable situation on the road.
