Germany clears Mercedes Benz for Level 3 autonomous driving with 95 km/h

The German government has issued Mercedes Benz clearance for Level 3 autonomous driving, allowing its vehicles to drive at 95 km/h.

In a press release on 17 December, the company said it has updated its conditionally automated driving system known as DRIVE PILOT and has now received the approval by the German Federal Motor Transport Authority for release.

Mercedes Benz will hence commence sale of the technology in Germany by early 2025.

DRIVE PILOT breakthrough

The recent DRIVE PILOT update has made it the fastest certified system for conditionally automated driving (SAE‑Level 3^[1]) in a standard production vehicle.

It is optionally available on two luxury saloon car ranges – S-Class and EQS, and while vehicles without the technology can buy it, vehicles that already have it installed will receive the update for free.

Commenting on the certification, Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes‑Benz Group AG, Chief Technology Officer, Development & Purchasing said:

“With innovative technologies from Mercedes‑Benz, we always want to offer our customers added value. When DRIVE PILOT is activated, it is possible to concentrate on other things while the car takes over the driving task. With the further developed version, which has now been certified by Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority, this is also possible at 95 km/h in Germany under certain conditions.

Schafer added that with this achievement, the company looks forward to achieving greater milestones in autonomous driving in the future.

DRIVE PILOT has already been in use in the U.S. since last year, having received approval from regulators for deployment.

The updated technology allows users to drive more frequently for longer distances in automated driving mode.

Putting safety first

The new update for DRIVE PILOT gives users convenience, but its main focus is on security. This is achieved through a redundant system architecture with important functions such as electrics, steering and braking are built in twice.

With this setup, the system can bring the vehicle to a stop if after several promptings the driver doesn’t take over for any reason, to prevent a crash.