Ford To Include BlueCruise Hands-Free Tech In Half A Million Vehicles From Next Year

Automaker Ford Motor Co F said on Monday that it is looking to add BlueCruise hardware as a standard on 500,000 Ford and Lincoln vehicles in 2024. Ford currently has 225,000 vehicles on the road globally equipped with hands-free driving technology.

What Happened: With the addition of the hardware as a standard, customers can choose to activate it at a different point than purchase. They can also experience it with the 90-day complimentary trial starting from purchase if they choose not to activate it.

"We believe in this technology and how it can help transform the highway driving experience and want to give more customers the opportunity to try it and provide flexibility for them to activate it when they want to use it,” Head of Commercial Acceleration of Ford Model e Ashley Lambrix said.

2024 model year F-150 Lightning, Ford F-150, Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator, Lincoln Nautilus and select trims of Lincoln Corsair will now be equipped with BlueCruise from the factory. Previously, customers had to decide at purchase if they wanted BlueCruise so the hardware could be installed.

Customers can now activate BlueCruise either annually for $800 or monthly for $75 if not at purchase. It permits users to remove their hands from the steering wheel in certain divided, pre-mapped motorways called Blue Zones.

Why It Matters: With more vehicles equipped with the hardware and a complimentary trial for customers to experience the technology, Ford expects more people to activate it.

With more vehicles equipped with the tech on the road, the team at Ford will gain access to more data which can help it deploy improvements and features through updates, the company said in a statement.

Photo Courtesy: Shutterstock.com

Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.

Read More: Elon Musk-led Tesla Expands Lineup With Budget-Friendly Model S And X Versions