Ford BlueCruise now available in 15 additional European countries

While Tesla’s semi-autonomous driving system has received more attention than other competing brands’ devices, Ford’s BlueCruise system has made significant progress because it has been approved by the European Commission for use in 15 European countries.

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The Level 2 “hands off, see” system is already available in Germany, the UK and Spain, but if a dozen more countries were added it would be much more flexible and ideal for long-distance trips across the continent.

Read: NHTSA investigating Ford’s BlueCruise ADAS after fatal nighttime crash

The Mustang Mach-E is currently the only Ford model available in Europe with the latest and most powerful BlueCruise system. However, the European Commission’s approval does not mean that owners can drive as they please. Instead, the system can only be used on approximately 83,000 miles or about 133,000 kilometers of designated highways in Europe, which are called “Blue Zones.”

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Ford says the longest stretch of uninterrupted highway that BlueCruise can travel stretches from Sweden to Italy, a distance of nearly 3,000 kilometers (about 1,864 miles). People who take this journey will be able to use BlueCruise for more than 25 hours straight.

BlueCruise controls steering, acceleration, braking and lane positioning while monitoring road markings, speed limit signs and traffic conditions. The driver monitoring system ensures the driver is always paying attention, even when their hands are off the wheel. The system is available on all new Mustang Mach-E models, and earlier Mach-E models in select countries will be eligible via a software update in the future.

Ashley Lambrix, Ford BlueCruise general manager, said: “We believe BlueCruise can make highway driving easier and more enjoyable, whether in stop-and-go traffic or on long journeys, and with this recent ruling we will be able to offer BlueCruise to even more customers across Europe. Expanding the availability of Blue Zones beyond the UK, Germany and Spain is also a major milestone for us, allowing customers to use BlueCruise for cross-country road trips.”

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