Mercedes S-Class To Get Autonomous Driving Sooner Than We Thought

Level 3 autonomy will debut in the S-Class, which Kallenius notes will be a "sensible option" for buyers of the range-topper. The technology will be available as an optional extra, and is likely to be priced similarly to other high-end optional extras on the full-size luxury sedan. A Driver Assistance Package on the current S560 sedan costs $2,250 and includes features such as Active Steering Assist, Active Lane Keeping Assist, and Active Brake Assist with a cross-traffic function. Level 3 autonomy can handle "all aspects of the dynamic driving task with the expectation that the human driver will respond appropriately to a request to intervene," according to SAE International.

As for Mercedes' goal to take the self-driving technology to the next level, Mercedes has partnered with Bosch to develop Level 4 and Level 5 autonomy for the taxi market, the latter of which doesn't require any human intervention. "Here it's also a two-pronged approach where the proliferation of the Level 3 system we can probably do it much quicker, because also the technical and cost infrastructure of Level 3 system is such that you can sell it as an option, whereas Level 4 and Level 5, at least in first generation, it's such a significant overall cost to the vehicle that the intelligent business case is a robotaxi."