Tag Archives: Autonomous driving

News

Ford Bets Big on Level 3 Autonomy with 2028 Debut

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Ford is taking a measured but ambitious step into advanced driver-assistance technology. The automaker has confirmed it will introduce a hands-off, eyes-off Level 3 driver-assistance system in 2028, built atop its affordable Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) platform, which itself is set to launch in 2027.

This move marks a notable pivot from Ford’s earlier autonomous ambitions. Back in 2016, the Blue Oval boldly predicted it would have Level 4 autonomous vehicles on the road by 2021, bypassing Level 3 entirely. Fast-forward to today, and the company, like many of its peers, acknowledges the technical hurdles of advanced autonomy have been more challenging than expected.

Ford’s forthcoming Level 3 system will lean on LiDAR to perceive the environment, a key ingredient for hands-off driving. While the company says the technology will debut on a vehicle built on the new UEV platform—a flexible architecture starting with a midsize electric pickup priced around $30,000—it has not confirmed if that pickup will wear the honor of hosting the first Level 3 system.

Doug Field, Ford’s EV chief, told Reuters that the system won’t come standard on the entry-level $30,000 model. Instead, customers can opt in, though the company has yet to finalize whether it will be sold as a subscription or a one-time purchase. “Autonomy shouldn’t be a premium feature,” Ford emphasizes, noting that by developing the hardware and software in-house, it can offer more capability at roughly 30% lower cost than relying on outside suppliers. The move is aimed at making Level 3 driving more scalable and attainable.

Key to Ford’s strategy is its new unified vehicle brain—a compute powerhouse that consolidates infotainment, ADAS, audio, and networking systems. This brain not only accelerates complex computations and gives engineers greater control over semiconductors, but it’s nearly half the size of previous computers and significantly cheaper to produce.

Ford is also expanding its in-car technology beyond autonomy. At CES, the company unveiled a dedicated AI assistant, tailored specifically for Ford and Lincoln vehicles. Unlike general-purpose AI tools, this assistant understands the nuances of Ford ownership: snap a photo of firewood, and it can calculate how many logs will fit in your F-150 bed. Next year, the AI will move from app-based interactions to onboard screens, adding a new layer of intelligence to the driving experience.

Ford’s approach suggests the company is ready to embrace autonomy incrementally, pairing advanced driver-assistance with a platform designed for affordability and flexibility. For now, Level 3 won’t put hands-free driving in every driver’s hands, but it signals that Ford sees the future of autonomy as something everyone—not just the tech elite—can reach.

Source: Ford

News

Volkswagen Puts Autonomous Gen.Urban on Public Roads in Wolfsburg

Volkswagen has quietly crossed an important threshold in its autonomous driving research, moving its Gen.Urban prototype out of controlled environments and onto public roads in Wolfsburg, Germany. Unlike most experimental vehicles still relying on a safety driver or conventional controls, the Gen.Urban operates without a steering wheel or pedals, navigating real traffic as a fully autonomous research platform.

The boxy, shuttle-like Gen.Urban is not a preview of a future production model, nor a concept designed to tease showroom ambitions. Instead, Volkswagen is positioning it as a rolling laboratory—one built specifically to observe how autonomous systems behave in genuine urban conditions and, just as importantly, how people react when the act of driving is completely removed from the experience.

Testing is being conducted by Volkswagen Group innovation teams, who are monitoring both vehicle behavior and passenger interaction in everyday scenarios such as intersections, city streets and mixed traffic flows. The goal is data: not simulated inputs or closed-track results, but insights gathered from the unpredictability of real-world traffic.

According to Nikolai Ardey, Head of Group Innovation at Volkswagen, the project is less about technical bravado and more about human factors. “Technology for autonomous driving is advancing rapidly,” Ardey said. “With our Gen.Urban research vehicle, we want to understand exactly how passengers experience autonomous driving.” Trust, comfort and intuitive interaction, he explained, are central to creating a positive user experience in a world where the driver becomes a passenger.

Inside the Gen.Urban, researchers are studying how occupants behave in a vehicle that drives itself entirely. Seating positions, movement patterns, interaction with digital interfaces and overall comfort are all under scrutiny. These observations will help shape future development work across the Volkswagen Group, even if the Gen.Urban itself never evolves into a production vehicle.

Technically, the vehicle has already proven its ability to operate autonomously in controlled settings. The current phase of public-road testing is intended to validate that capability under everyday conditions, ensuring it can independently follow city routes while complying with traffic regulations.

Volkswagen remains cautious about what comes next. No timelines have been announced for commercial deployment, and the company has not confirmed whether the technology tested on Gen.Urban will directly feed into future production models. For now, the Wolfsburg trials represent one strand of a broader research effort, running parallel to the Group’s ongoing work on advanced driver assistance systems and long-term mobility concepts.

In an industry often eager to promise imminent autonomy, Volkswagen’s Gen.Urban program feels deliberately restrained. Rather than showcasing a near-future product, it reflects a more measured approach—one that acknowledges that the success of autonomous driving will depend as much on human trust and comfort as on software and sensors.

Source: Volkswagen

News

BMW’s Slow-and-Steady Approach to Self-Driving Tech Is Very On-Brand

BMW has spent decades hammering home its “ultimate driving machine” mantra, and despite the industry’s headlong rush toward autonomy, the company isn’t about to abandon that identity—or its caution. While rivals scramble to one-up each other with increasingly ambitious driver-assistance features, BMW is content to treat automation as a long-distance race rather than a drag sprint. The goal, it insists, isn’t to be first. It’s to be right.

That philosophy was on full display in a recent interview with CarExpert, where Falk Schubert, an advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) engineer working on the upcoming BMW iX3, made one thing clear: BMW will not trade safety for bragging rights. Even if a competitor launches a flashier feature first, Munich isn’t interested unless the system is fully vetted.

“We want to be safe,” Schubert said. “Because the thing is, if you go too easy on features and then have one critical accident, that is not something that BMW wants and stands for.” In other words, BMW would rather arrive late than explain why a half-baked system went wrong.

For now, the company’s focus is squarely on its Highway, or Motorway, Assistant. In the new iX3, the system allows hands-free driving at speeds of up to 81 mph (130 km/h). Before you get too comfortable, though, this is still very much a Level 2 setup. Drivers must remain attentive and ready to take over at a moment’s notice. BMW isn’t interested in pretending otherwise.

Automatic lane changes are also part of the package, but—again—BMW applies the brakes on overpromising. The system will suggest a lane change, and the driver can approve it simply by looking into the side mirror. No suggestion, no maneuver. It’s assistive, not assertive.

In urban environments, the iX3’s City Assistant takes over some of the mental load. The system can detect traffic lights, bring the vehicle to a stop at red, and pull away when the light turns green. There’s a catch, of course. If the camera beneath the rearview mirror decides you’re not paying attention, the car stays put. BMW’s internal designation for this setup is “NA5,” and it embodies the company’s broader stance: the car will help, but it won’t babysit a distracted driver.

Geographically, BMW is also rolling things out conservatively. The new Highway and City Assistants will initially launch in select European markets, including Germany, Austria, France, Italy, and several neighboring countries. The U.S. is expected to receive the technology at launch next summer, with wider availability planned later. BMW reportedly intends to keep the iX3 in production until late 2034, giving it plenty of runway to refine and expand its driver-assistance suite.

In an era where autonomy hype often outpaces reality, BMW’s approach may seem restrained—almost stubbornly so. But for a brand that still wants drivers to feel engaged rather than replaced, slow and careful might just be the most BMW move of all.

Source: CarExpert