Ford gave up on the commercial autonomous vehicle technology company Argo AI some time ago, though it wound up replacing it with another similar entity, Latitude AI, which has since been focusing on Level 3 autonomy, rather than Level 4 and 5, which the automaker doesn’t see as a profitable venture in the short term. Back in June 2024, Ford CEO Jim Farley revealed that the automaker was “getting really close” to achieving Level 3 status, but it doesn’t seem as if we’ll be seeing it in a production Blue Oval vehicle too soon, either.
“For sure. Our number one priority is to not be the first one to do eyes-off, Level 3 highway driving, but to be the best, most reliable, and the safest, the one you want to use for you and your loved ones,” Farley said during a recent appearance on The Verge‘s Decoder podcast. “We took all the Argo AI people and we gave them a choice. Do you want to do highway high speed, eyes-off automation? Push a button, watch a movie, or whatever people want to do? We could do this podcast in your car.”
Farley previously stated that he believes Ford could offer Level 3 autonomy to customers as early as 2026, making it the very first mass market automaker to do so – though now, that may not be the case, after all. Currently, that technology is being developed in-house, and would enable users to take their eyes off the road – not just their hands, as is the case with some current systems – giving them the freedom to do other things while their vehicles take care of driving duties.
It remains to be seen which automaker will be first to market with Level 3 autonomy, but it seemingly won’t be Ford rival Stellantis. That company recently opted to shelve its own Level 3 advanced driver assistance program due to the high costs of development, technological challenges, and weak consumer demand for such a product. It’s a big shift given the fact that the automaker just debuted its new STLA AutoDrive system this past February, its first automated driving system that was slated to deliver hands-free and eyes-off L3 functionality.
A different type of design intended to reduce unsprung weight.
Following a strong quarter in terms of sales.
Not just one, but two winning bidders backed out.
Includes $2,000 cash back nationwide on midsize pickup truck.
Ending a five-year GM winning streak.
Only two models beat it out this time around.
