- The system can be used across 83,000 miles of designated highways.
- The longest stretch of highway goes from Sweden to Italy and is over 1,800 miles.
- BlueCruise is currently only available on the Mustang Mach-E in Europe.
While Tesla’s semi-autonomous driving systems continue to get more fanfare than any other setup from a rival brand, Ford has made a major stride with its BlueCruise system after receiving approval from the European Commission for their driver-assistance system to be used in 15 European countries.
The Level 2 ‘hands-off, eyes-on’, system is already available in Germany, the UK, and Spain, but adding more than a dozen extra countries will make it much more versatile and perfect for long trips across the continent.
Read: NHTSA Probes Ford’s BlueCruise ADAS After Fatal Nighttime Collisions
The Mustang Mach-E is the only current Ford model featuring the latest and greatest version of the BlueCruise system in Europe. The European Commission’s approval doesn’t mean that owners will be permitted to drive wherever they want hands-free, however. Instead, the system can only be used on approximately 83,000 miles or ~133,000 km of designated highways across Europe, known as Blue Zones.
Ford says the longest, uninterrupted stretch of highway that BlueCruise can be used along extends from Sweden to Italy, covering almost 3,000 km (~1,864 miles). Those taking this journey will be able to use BlueCruise for more than 25 hours straight.
BlueCruise handles the steering, acceleration, braking, and lane positioning, all while monitoring road markings, speed signs, and traffic conditions. A driver-monitoring system ensures drivers are paying attention at all times, even if their hands are off the wheel. The system is available to purchase on all new Mustang Mach-E models, and in the future, earlier Mach-E models in select countries will be eligible to get the system through a software update.
“We believe BlueCruise can make highway driving easier and more enjoyable whether you are in stop-and-go traffic or on a long road trip, and with this recent ruling it will allow us to offer even more customers access to BlueCruise across Europe,” BlueCruise general manager at Ford, Ashley Lambrix said. “Expanding the availability of Blue Zones beyond Great Britain, Germany and Spain is also a huge milestone for us, allowing customers to use BlueCruise for a multi-country road trip.”
