Ford's BlueCruise Surpasses 1.4 Million Hands-Free Driving Hours, Jim Farley Sets Ambitious Vision

Automaker Ford Motor Co F said on Thursday that its BlueCruise driving assist feature has enabled 1.4 million hands-free driving hours across North America. This is a 44% jump in three months since the end of the first quarter.

What Happened: The company now has 225,000 vehicles equipped with the software. As per CEO Jim Farley, the software also hit its 100 millionth-mile of hands-free driving this month.

Talking about the future of its driver-assist technology, Farley said, “BlueCruise is just the beginning of our ambition.”

BlueCruise permits users to remove their hands from the steering wheel in certain divided, pre-mapped motorways called Blue Zones. It is available on select trims of the Mustang Mach-E SUV, the F-150 truck, the F-150 Lightning truck, and the Expedition SUV.

On BlueZones, BlueCruise will maintain the car in the lane while sustaining cruising speed. As a safety measure, an infrared camera would track the driver's gaze to ensure that they are watching the road.

Why It Matters: Though EV giant Tesla Inc TSLA has been attempting to ramp up its Autopilot and full self-driving capabilities, these features are presently intended for use by a driver who has their hands on the wheel as they do not make the vehicle autonomous.

However, earlier on Thursday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that he tested the version 12 alpha build of its FSD software. Last month, Musk said that version 12 would no longer be beta, hinting that it would achieve full autonomy by then. 

Photo Courtesy: Shutterstock.com

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