- Mercedes-Benz was the first automaker to offer an eyes-off, hands-off Level 3 automated driving system in the United States.
- Drive Pilot debuted in late 2023 on the EQS and S-Class sedans.
- It could take control of the car’s controls, but its speed was limited, and it could only work if certain requirements were met.
Mercedes-Benz is pausing the rollout of its Drive Pilot system, the first and so far only Level 3-certified assisted driving system that enables true eyes-off and hands-off driving in the United States.
The feature debuted with much fanfare in late 2023 on the EQS EV and S-Class gas sedan, but now the automaker has decided to put the brakes on the system. But now the facelifted S-Class, which will be revealed at the end of this month, will not have Drive Pilot, as first reported by German newspaper Handelsblatt.
The headline-making feature was impressive, as we found out during a test ride in 2023. But its abilities were limited by regulation, and it was very expensive to build. The system would only work on certain pieces of highways in Nevada and California, at speeds of up to 40 mph, in good weather and during daytime, and only if the road had readable markings and lines.
What’s more, customers had to spec their cars with the right hardware and then pay a $2,500 yearly subscription to use the feature.
While it’s unclear what will happen to customers who already use Drive Pilot, Mercedes-Benz said that it will move forward with another system called MB.Drive Assist Pro, which enables what Mercedes calls Level 2++ functionality. It doesn’t offer eyes-off capabilities, but it can drive on city streets as long as the driver keeps their hands on the steering wheel and eyes on the road, similar to Tesla’s Autopilot.
Our own Patrick George rode in a car with this feature on the new Mercedes-Benz CLA, and found that it works really well. The system relies on 10 cameras, 5 radar sensors, 12 ultrasonic sensors and a beefy Nvidia onboard computer.
By contrast, the Level 3-certified Drive Pilot also used lidar units sourced from the now-bankrupt Luminar, but the sourcing deal was dead from 2024, as Mercedes-Benz was forced to terminate the deal because the lidar maker failed to meet the contract requirements.
“We don’t want to offer a system which, customer-wise, doesn’t have much benefits, and we know another system will come with the next two [or] three years with much more customer benefit,” said Mercedes spokesperson Tobias Mueller, quoted by The Verge.
The next logical step for Mercedes-Benz is to offer another system that enables hands-free and eyes-off highway driving, but regulation limitations will still limit how and where these types of features can be deployed.
