The British Ford Mustang Mach-E will be more sophisticated than before because it gets this feature, it can drive itself!
Yup, Ford has just announced that its Ford BlueCruise semi-autonomous technology has been approved by the UK Department of Transport.
The approval of BlueCruise in the UK is an important moment for Ford as it is the starting point for the introduction of the semi-autonomous system in Europe.
"The Ford BlueCruise is the first hands-free driving system to be approved in a European country," said Martin Sander, General Manager of Ford Model e Europe.
"Modern freeways can be challenging for confident drivers and intimidating to other drivers. BlueCruise can take over and give drivers extra confidence and comfort," added Sander.
For those who don't know, BlueCruise is a feature of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) which allows cars to be driven semi-autonomously.
The concept is "hands-off, eyes on" which means when BlueCruise is active, the driver can take his hands off the steering wheel but still monitor the road ahead.
This feature relies on the ADAS sensors in the car and is connected to the Blue Zone mapping system that has been prepared by Ford.
In England, Ford says it has mapped out 2,300 miles or 3,700 kilometers of toll roads for the BlueCruise system.
When active, BlueCruise will read the situation around the vehicle using sensors and monitor the driver via an infrared camera.
If BlueCruise detects that the driver is not paying attention, the system will flash a warning to apply braking if the driver still does not respond.
To activate BlueCruise, consumers of the Ford Mustang Mach-E model 2023 must subscribe for a monthly fee of 17.99 pounds.
Interestingly for the first 3 months, BlueCruise includes the purchase of a vehicle so it can be used without paying a subscription fee.
