CEO Says Ford is ‘Getting Close’ to Level 3 Autonomous Driving with ‘Hands and Eyes Off’

Ford CEO Jim Farley announced the company's progress towards achieving Level 3 autonomous driving, allowing for hands-free and eyes-off-the-road operation, during a recent interview with Bloomberg TV.

Ford CEO Jim Farley Announces Progress Toward Level 3 Autonomous Driving, Enabling Hands-Free and Eyes-Off Operation

In a recent interview (via Electrek), Ford CEO Jim Farley addressed the American automaker's advancements in autonomous driving. He announced that the company had achieved Level 3 autonomy, allowing drivers to remove their hands from the wheel and their eyes from the road. However, it will be some time before Ford customers can experience it.

Autonomous driving remains a popular topic in EV innovation. Still, the development of self-driving vehicles is taking significantly longer than initially anticipated, much like the 1960s vision of a post-millennium future with flying cars.

While Tesla's 'Full-Self Driving' feature is not yet at the Level 4 standard and does not meet Level 3 by SAE standards, Mercedes-Benz stands out as the sole automaker currently providing Level 3 autonomy through its Drive Pilot ADAS. This feature is only authorized for use on specific highways in the U.S. at speeds below 40 mph.

At Level 3, the car assumes control and is responsible for any accidents if the driver removes their hands from the wheel and their eyes from the road. Most automakers, including Ford, have achieved Level 2 autonomous driving, which allows for hands-free operation while maintaining visual awareness.

Consumer Reports awarded Ford's BlueCruise the top position for driver assistance systems in 2023, surpassing GM's Super Cruise. Tesla secured the seventh position. Jim Farley recently updated the public on Ford's advancements in autonomous driving, revealing that they have reached Level 3 at the prototype stage.

Ford CEO Reveals Level 3 Autonomous Driving is Two Years Away, Promising Hands-Free Highway Travel

In a recent interview with Bloomberg TV, Farley disclosed that Ford has already conducted Level 3 autonomous driving testing and that the technology is approximately two years away from being implemented in passenger electric vehicles.

Farley stated, “We’re getting really close. We can do it now pretty regularly with a prototype, but doing it in a cost-effective way is just the progress we’re going to need to make. Level 3 autonomy will allow you to go hands and eyes off the road on the highway in a couple of years so then your car becomes like an office. You could do a conference call and all sorts of stuff.”

While Farley did not disclose specific details about Ford's roadmap to Level 3 autonomous driving or whether the automaker is exploring LiDAR vision camera technologies or both, it's clear that Ford is committed to the journey. In 2022, Ford established its autonomous driving arm, Argo AI, with the understanding that full self-driving was still a considerable distance away.

Given the rapid success of hands-free driving through Level 2 ADAS, Level 3 is a logical progression for the industry and is significantly more believable than the full autonomy other manufacturers have pledged. Ford's capacity to produce a mass-market electric vehicle with Level 3 autonomous driving capabilities will be the primary focus of attention in 2026.

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