Mercedes brings automated driving onto the market

“From May 17, customers can book the “Drive Pilot” as an optional extra. Initially, the system is only available for two models. The company also announces the price.

 

In the future, the Mercedes Group will offer its customers automated driving as an optional extra. The company announced this on Friday night in Stuttgart. According to Mercedes, it is the "world's first automobile manufacturer with internationally valid certification for highly automated driving". Customers can book the “Drive Pilot” option from May 17th.

 

Mercedes also named a price for the system for the first time: it costs 5000 euros plus VAT for the S-Class sedan. For the electric S-Class EQS, 7430 euros are due because it does not include the driver assistance system as standard. Tesla's system for automated driving costs 7,500 euros in Germany, and in the USA the group recently increased the price to 12,000 dollars or 11,400 euros.

 

Nobody can do level 5 yet

Automated or autonomous driving is divided into 5 levels. Many car manufacturers are already offering Level 2 systems: These are driver assistance systems that allow drivers to take their hands off the wheel for a short time. Some assistants are referred to as Level 2 Plus because they include additional functions. 

 

The Level 3 system that Mercedes is now offering allows drivers to do other things over a longer period of time. "You can relax or work and win back valuable time," says the Mercedes announcement. In an emergency, however, the driver must be able to intervene again. 

 

The highest level - level 5 - then makes the driver completely superfluous. Such cars do not yet exist.

 

The Drive Pilot, as Mercedes calls the system, is approved for speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour on freeways or roads similar to freeways. The system can therefore take over driving, especially in traffic jams or slow-moving traffic. Mercedes received approval from the Federal Motor Transport Authority at the end of last year. According to Sales Director Britta Seeger, Mercedes also wants to receive approval in the USA by the end of the year.

 

Automated driving systems must meet high safety requirements. The systems are redundant: they are always available in duplicate if one fails. If the system malfunctions – which Mercedes considers unlikely – the driver has to intervene within 10 seconds. Otherwise, Drive Pilot initiates a "safe emergency stop".

 

Car manufacturers and their suppliers around the world are working on systems for automated driving. They hope for a huge market. It is estimated that almost 66 million cars will be sold around the world this year. Another huge market is emerging with systems for entertainment or work that customers use when they are no longer working as drivers.”

 

You are understanding what is written here correctly - the person, who introduces level 5 autonomous driving system will take over all car manufacturing in the world. Rest of the car manufactures will go out of car business like Nokia did go out of phone business in the cell phone development story.  Germany without car manufacturing would look sad.