Mercedes beats Tesla to hands-free driving on motorways

Mercedes-Benz will be deploying hands-free driving in Germany. Photo: Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz won regulatory approval to deploy a hands-free driving system in Germany ahead of Tesla, gaining an edge in the race to offer higher levels of automation in one of the world’s most competitive car markets.

The automaker got the go-ahead to sell its Drive Pilot package for use on stretches of the country’s Autobahn network at a speed of up to 60 km/h.

The system was approved for Level 3 autonomous driving, a notch higher than Tesla's Level 2 Autopilot system, and will allow a driver to take their hands off the wheel in slow-moving traffic, according to Bloomberg.

"Drive Pilot enables the driver to turn away from the traffic and focus on certain secondary activities," Mercedes said in a statement.

"For example, to communicate with colleagues via the in-car office, to write emails, to surf the Internet or to relax and watch a film," the statement said.

Tesla, Alphabet's Waymo and others have been chasing self-driving technology for years.

A fully autonomous vehicle would be highly attractive to premium customers, allowing drivers to work or use entertainment systems while on journeys.

Mercedes got permission for the system only in Germany but said it is aiming for regulatory approval in other countries as well, such a China and the US.

Mercedes-Benz will offer the system in those markets, said Markus Schaefer, Daimler chief technology officer. Drive Pilot will be an option for the S-Class and EQS models from around the middle of next year.

Tesla hasn’t been so lucky with its driver-assistance technology in Germany after a court rejected the company’s promotion of Autopilot last year, saying the automaker has misled consumers about what the system can do.

CEO Elon Musk started charging customers thousands of dollars for a "Full Self Driving" feature in 2016. Years later, Tesla still requires users of its Autopilot system to be fully attentive and ready to take over driving at any time, says Bloomberg.