American legacy automaker Ford continues to expand the reach of its BlueCruise hands-free driving assistant across the world, with 12 new countries to conquer in Europe.
Ford BlueCruise secures greenlight in 15 European countries
According to the press release, Ford has received the European Commission’s approval to deploy its SAE Level 2 advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) BlueCruise in 15 European countries, up from just three.
BlueCruise was previously only available on highways in Great Britain, Spain, and Germany. The approval allows it to expand to the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, and Sweden.
Beyond Europe, BlueCruise was also available in the United States and Canada.
Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley shared the significant development on social media platform X on Wednesday.
“BlueCruise road trips across Europe just got easier. With the European Commission’s approval, Ford’s BlueCruise is now available in 15 European countries (17 countries globally, including the US & Canada). That means customers can access more than 82,744 miles of designated highways across Europe. Proud of the work our global ADAS and BlueCruise team have done to make this possible!”
Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley
BlueCruise designations
BlueCruise is currently only available on several Ford models, including the all-electric Mustang Mach-E.
Following the approval, BlueCruise-equipped model owners now have access to 82,744 miles of designated highways across Europe. The ADAS can perform multiple autonomous driving tasks like steering, changing lanes, accelerating, and braking depending on traffic conditions in these designations.
In addition, owners can also activate BlueCruise on more than 130,000 miles of divided highways called “Hands-Free Blue Zones” in the US and Canada.
BlueCruise’s expansion in Europe has brought the total number of miles to more than 210,000.
Availability
Ford currently offers its SAE Level 2 ADAS for a 90-day free trial for new car buyers in the US.
After that period, owners need to pay a subscription fee of $75/month or $700/year to keep the BlueCruise active on their cars.
On the other hand, BlueCruise ‘s monthly subscription fee in Germany starts at €24.99 (about $27).
Ford BlueCruise’s expansion into new European countries places the company way ahead of Tesla, which has not yet introduced its “Full Self-Driving” suite in the region. It may change soon as CEO Elon Musk recently revealed that he expects to secure the necessary approval to launch FSD in Europe and China “before the end of the year.”
