1973 Ford Mustang convertible featured on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”
This classic convertible was featured on the groundbreaking television show “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and is currently on display in Los Angeles.
Ford Motor Company announced Wednesday that it will bring to market in 2028 a Level 3 driver assistance system that allows drivers to take their hands and eyes off the road while driving on certain highways.
The technology will initially be available on Ford’s new electric vehicle platform being developed by a dedicated team in California, with plans to expand to other vehicles in the future, the company said. The first model on the platform will be a mid-duty electric truck, scheduled to launch in 2027 with a target price of $30,000, and will feature advanced software systems not currently available on other Ford models.
Ford did not say which models on the platform would be equipped with advanced driver-assistance software first.
Doug Field, Ford’s chief EV and digital design officer, said in an interview with Reuters that the Level 3 system will not be standard in the $30,000 price range and will be available for an additional fee, which has not yet been determined.
“We’re also learning a lot about the business model. Should it be a subscription? Should we pay full price up front? We’re focused on making it very affordable right now and we’re very excited about that. We have time to establish pricing,” Field said.
The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker is looking to reduce its reliance on suppliers and develop these systems in-house to reduce costs, provide faster updates to customers and improve quality, a longstanding challenge for the company.
Field said Ford plans to use lidar, a remote sensing technology, to support the Level 3 system. Tesla Inc TSLA.O CEO Elon Musk has said self-driving can be solved without camera-based lidar, but the company’s “full self-driving” systems in its cars have Level 2 capabilities that still require drivers to keep their eyes on the road at all times.
Most automakers limit self-driving capabilities in private cars to highways where traffic patterns are more predictable. Cities have more difficult challenges with pedestrians, cyclists, and unforeseen circumstances.
Mercedes-Benz MBGn.DE provides a highway-only Level 3 system for U.S. drivers, and is used in some states such as California and Nevada.
General Motors Co GM.N announced in October that it would bring Eyes-Off Driving to the market in 2028 from the Cadillac Escalade IQEV, which starts at more than $125,000. Reuters previously reported that Chrysler’s Stellantis STLAM.MI was shelving its Level 3 ADAS program, citing concerns about high costs, technical challenges and consumer appetite.
Driver-assistance systems that automatically apply steering and brakes in certain situations are a focus for automakers looking to generate subscription revenue from cars on the road. Ford currently offers the Level 2 BlueCruise system on many models for a payment of about $50 per month or $495 per year. This allows drivers to drive hands-free, but requires them to keep their eyes on the road.
Driver-assistance technology is also considered a precursor to fully autonomous cars, which analysts say could open up a huge new market for ride-hailing and personal self-driving cars.
Field also outlined Ford’s plans for an artificial intelligence assistant that will be released as a mobile app early this year and as an in-car feature next year. For example, an assistant can analyze a photo of a pallet of supplies and calculate how much will fit on a truck.
GM has been offering conversational AI with Google Gemini since this year, and said it plans to introduce its own custom-built system later. Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz also offer a variety of AI agents.
Reporting by Nora Eckert in Detroit and Abhirup Roy in Las Vegas. Editing: Mike Kollias and Jamie Freed
