Overview
- Mercedes will halt further deployment of its Drive Pilot Level 3 system and will omit the eyes‑off feature from the late‑January S‑Class midcycle update, according to the company.
- Spokesperson Tobias Mueller said customer benefit remains narrow while development costs are high.
- Real‑world use is tightly constrained, with legal operation only in Germany in Europe and on limited highway sections in California and Nevada, and the system cannot engage in rain or at night.
- The system depends on lidar, cameras and high‑precision maps, and Mercedes ended its lidar supply collaboration with Luminar in 2024.
- The company is shifting focus to a broader Drive Pilot Assist L2++ suite that requires driver supervision, as safety concerns over L3 handover persist and some rivals target L4 autonomy.