Mercedes-Benz has received approval for Level 3 autonomous driving at 95 km/h in Germany

Mercedes-Benz has updated its DRIVE PILOT partially autonomous driving system and received approval from the German Federal Motor Transport Authority. This makes DRIVE PILOT the fastest certified SAE Level 3 autonomous driving system for production vehicles. The updated software will be available for installation in vehicles at the beginning of 2025.

What is SAE Level 3?

At this level of autonomy, the system takes over certain driving tasks, but the driver must still be ready to take over at a moment's notice if the need arises.

DRIVE PILOT is available as an option for the S-Class and EQS models, priced from €5,950 (including VAT). Cars with the system already installed will receive the update free of charge - via OTA (Over-the-Air Update) or during a service visit. No changes to the cars' hardware components are required.

What else is known.

The updated DRIVE PILOT now supports speeds of up to 95 km/h in certain conditions over the entire length of Germany's 13,191 kilometres of autobahns. This allows drivers to use the autonomous mode for longer and concentrate on other tasks, such as watching films, reading or simply relaxing and resting while the car drives itself.

The DRIVE PILOT system has a redundant architecture: electronics, steering wheel, brakes - all key functions are reserved in case of failure. In the event that the driver does not take back control (e.g. due to a sudden health problem), DRIVE PILOT will stop the vehicle on its own and activate the emergency lights. Compatible models are equipped with more than 35 sensors, including cameras, radar, ultrasonic sensors and LiDAR.

Source: Mercedes-Benz