Mercedes-Benz DRIVE PILOT — Level 3 Reaches the United States

DRIVE PILOT is the SAE Level 3 (conditional driving automation) system that Mercedes-Benz offers on the S-Class and EQS. Within limited conditions, such as heavy traffic on a motorway, the car does the driving and the driver may meanwhile do other things on the in-car display. In Germany it received system approval from the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) on 9 December 2021 and could be ordered from 17 May 2022. In the United States, Nevada confirmed on 26 January 2023 that the system complied with state regulations, and Mercedes announced that it had become the world's first automotive company to bring SAE Level 3 to the US. On 8 June 2023 the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issued a deployment permit, describing the company as the first authorised to sell or lease vehicles with an automated driving system to the public. Mercedes's announcements did not include a launch in Japan.

The definitions of the levels are on the SAE J3016 page, and Honda's earlier Level 3 type designation in Japan on the Legend page.

Germany: approval under UN-R157

According to Mercedes, Germany opened its Road Traffic Act (StVG) to Level 3 systems in 2017, and the technical regulation under which such systems can be certified, UN-R157, came into force at the beginning of 2021. The international standard had been adopted by the UN's World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP29) in June 2020. On 9 December 2021 the KBA granted DRIVE PILOT system approval under UN-R157, and Mercedes said it was the first automotive company in the world to meet UN-R157's requirements for a Level 3 system.

That "first" is bounded by the UN-R157 standard. In Japan, Honda's Legend had received type designation under Japanese rules in November 2020 and gone on lease sale in March 2021.

The initial German conditions were heavy traffic or congestion on suitable motorway sections, at up to 60 km/h. Mercedes said it would at first offer the system on 13,191 km of German motorway. Orders opened on 17 May 2022, at €5,000 on the S-Class. In December 2024 the KBA allowed operation at up to 95 km/h, in the right-hand lane behind a vehicle ahead; Mercedes called it the world's fastest certified Level 3 system in a series-production car.

United States: Nevada and California

According to Mercedes, the regulatory framework in the United States varies by state. On 26 January 2023 Nevada confirmed that DRIVE PILOT met the requirements of its Chapter 482A on autonomous vehicles.

On 8 June 2023 the California DMV issued Mercedes-Benz USA an autonomous vehicle deployment permit. According to the DMV, the company was the fourth to receive such a permit and the first authorised to sell or lease vehicles with an automated driving system to the public.

As a condition of the permit, the DMV required that owners watch a mandatory video explaining the system's capabilities and how to engage and disengage it before Mercedes would activate DRIVE PILOT. A deployment permit also requires a defined operational design domain, compliance with federal motor vehicle safety standards, a plan for how police and other first responders should interact with the vehicles, and insurance or a bond of $5 million. On 27 September 2023 Mercedes announced that US availability would start in late 2023 with a limited fleet of EQS sedans, with activation starting at $2,500.

What it does, and what the driver must do

According to Mercedes, DRIVE PILOT controls speed and distance, keeps the car in its lane, and handles unexpected situations with evasive manoeuvres within the lane or by braking. While it is active, apps on the central display that are otherwise blocked while driving can be used. The driver must still be ready to take over whenever asked. If the driver fails to respond even after increasingly urgent prompts (for example because of a severe health problem), the car brakes to a standstill with its hazard lights on, activates the emergency call system and unlocks the doors for first responders.

On top of the standard driver-assistance sensors it adds lidar, a camera in the rear window, microphones to detect emergency vehicles and a road-wetness sensor. Steering, braking and the on-board power supply are redundant, so that the car stays manoeuvrable and can hand over safely if one of them fails. Mercedes notes that which secondary activities are legally allowed depends on each country's traffic rules.

The 2026 turn

According to a report by the German business daily Handelsblatt, relayed by electrive and others in January 2026, the facelifted S-Class to be unveiled on 29 January would no longer offer DRIVE PILOT. In its place comes MB.DRIVE ASSIST PRO, driver assistance that requires the driver to keep watching the road (electrive calls it Level 2++), with liability for incidents remaining with the driver. electrive gives the reasons as Level 2 avoiding costly lidar, allowing a lower price, and working in many more situations than congested motorways. According to the same article, Mercedes is working with Nvidia towards Level 4, aiming at the next S-Class, expected between 2028 and 2030.

Impact on society

DRIVE PILOT was sold on the promise of giving drivers their time back. Markus Schäfer, Mercedes's chief technology officer, described giving time back to customers as a core element of the company's strategy. On the regulatory side, by making a user-education video and a law-enforcement interaction plan conditions of the permit, the California DMV spelled out how a privately owned Level 3 car is to be admitted into public life.

Whether Level 3 works as a consumer product, given the limits on speed and road type and, in California, daylight only, was another question. The reasons electrive gives for the 2026 turn amount to the view that cost and narrow usefulness can outweigh the value of driving with your eyes off the road. Some in the industry, such as Mobileye, argue that the distinction between Levels 3 and 4 is itself unnecessary (see the SAE J3016 page). Driverless Level 4 robotaxis are covered on the Waymo page.