Ford EV’s BlueCruise hands-off tech approved for use across Europe
Ford Mustang Mach-E owners can now use the firm’s BlueCruise hands-free technology across 15 European countries.
level 2 hands-off, eyes-on driver assistance system can now be used on more than 82,000 miles of road across England, Scotland, Wales and mainland Europe, after the European Commission approved the system.
The technology was granted approval in Britain, Germany and Spain in 2022, making it the first hands-off system to be permitted on motorways in Europe. The latest permissions mean the system can be used across most major European countries from France and the Netherlands to Italy and Greece.
“We believe BlueCruise can make highway driving easier and more enjoyable whether you are in stop-and-go traffic or on a long road trip, and with this recent ruling it will allow us to offer even more customers access to BlueCruise across Europe,” said Ashley Lambrix, BlueCruise general manager.
“Expanding the availability of Blue Zones beyond Great Britain, Germany and Spain is also a huge milestone for us, allowing customers to use BlueCruise for a multi-country road trip.”
The subscription-based system costs £17.99 per month and is available to owners of all new Mustang Mach-Es. It will become available to some older models via over-the-air updates. It can only be used in predetermined ‘Blue Zones’ which are on divided highways such as motorways and autoroutes.
When BlueCruise is engaged, the system controls the steering, acceleration, braking, lane positioning and distance to other vehicles, allowing the driver to remove their hands from the steering wheel – unlike other ‘semi-autonomous’ driving systems. However, the driver must be ready to take back control immediately – the ‘eyes-on’ part of the deal – so a driver-facing camera located below the instrument cluster checks the driver’s eye gaze and head position to ensure they are still focused on the road.
Ford says there are now more than 420,000 vehicles worldwide fitted with BlueCruise and they have collected covered 213 million miles with the system engaged.
