Mercedes-Benz to accelerate autonomous driving on German autobahns

BERLIN: Mercedes-Benz said its cars equipped with its automated driving system will be upgraded to drive autonomously at up to 95 kilometres per hour on German motorways in certain conditions.

Pending certification by Germany's motor transport authority, expected at the end of 2024, sales of the DRIVE PILOT system will start from next year, Mercedes said on Monday.

The car is able to take over driving as long as another vehicle is in front of it and it has clear visibility, leaving drivers able to take their hands off the wheel for extended periods, but be expected to be able to take over within seconds.

Existing Mercedes cars equipped with the technology will be upgraded from a current 60 kph free of charge.

The auto industry has defined five levels of autonomous driving, from cruise control at level one to fully self-driving cars at level five. Mercedes cars will operate at level 3 in Germany under the new system.

Mercedes has installed a turquoise light on the front of cars with the system which switches on when it is enabled to notify other drivers that it is in automated mode, a colour it hopes will be adopted as a standard.

Its aim is to increase the speed under which the system can be used to 130 kph, though it did not provide a timeline.

It has carried out tests for the Level 3 system in Beijing and received approval to use it on designated highways in two U.S. states, California and Nevada.

While China was very "safety-conscious" and looking in detail at data, Mercedes CTO Markus Schaefer said he expected Level 3 systems to be approved there for wider use "very quickly" and for the market to then expand at high speed.

"We know how quickly the market moves in China," he said.