Premium brands take autonomy lead

Level-three tech roll-out faltering as volume brands weigh up cost against benefit

- NICK GIBBS

Car makers are sharply divided on whether to offer level-three (L3) autonomy as they weigh up the cost versus the reward.

Currently only BMW and Mercedes offer 'hands-off, eyes-off' autonomy in their flagship limos, and then only in Germany and select American states at traffic jam speeds.

More cars are scheduled to join their ranks, with a total of 25,000 L3-enabled global sales forecast for this year, rising to more than a million in 2026, according to Counterpoint Research.

But who will join the two German brands? The cost of the technology is very much in the premium range. Renault recently took itself out of the running, and Volkswagen is similarly wary of the cost.

"We are not premium or luxury," Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer said. Instead, he flagged demand for handsoff, eyes-on level-two-plus (L2+) tech, which allows the car to take over many of the driving functions but with the driver supervising at all times.

Mercedes is likewise looking to introduce L2+ tech in its next CLA (see bottom left).