Although Spain was the pioneer, Ford’s “hands-free” system has now expanded to 15 other European countries

Last October, the possibility of “driving” an electric Ford car across Spain without touching the steering wheel came into effect. Blue Cruise Our country is one of three countries in Europe that have this capability (the other two are Germany and the UK). Now, this capability is becoming available in other parts of Europe; specifically, in 15 new countries.

At the moment, let’s remember that the only model in Spain that has this function is Ford Mustang Mach-EWith a Level 2 autonomous driving system, they jokingly call this “hands-free, active eyes” to describe the capabilities of BlueCruise technology. This advancement has been perfected through more than 1.1 million kilometers driven on roads around the world. In this way, it has been tuned to perfection to guarantee its completely safe use.

BlueCruise service expands to new regions

Obviously, it is not easy to approve this type of advancement in the European Union, however, the European Commission itself has agreed to include 15 new countries in the region. In this way, after the aforementioned merger of Spain and Germany, Europe guarantees a continuous journey along the old continental roads.

A road network called “Blue Zones” was created after the introduction of 15 new European countries. 133,000 kmFord claims that the longest stretch of autobahn in the entire region is between Switzerland and Italy, at around 3,000 kilometres.

“We believe BlueCruise can make motorway driving easier and more enjoyable, whether you’re driving in stop-and-go traffic or on a long road trip, and with this recent resolution we can offer BlueCruise to even more customers across Europe. Expanding Blue Zone availability beyond the UK, Germany and Spain is also a great milestone for us as it will allow customers to take long-distance trips on roads in multiple countries.” Ashley Lambrixgeneral manager of Ford BlueCruise.

Let’s remember that this system is responsible for steering, accelerating, braking and positioning the car in its lane. While all these functions are guaranteed, the system itself “forces” the driver to always pay attention to the road. As long as your eyes are away for a few seconds, the system will sound an alarm; if this situation persists, the function will be cancelled and the pilot must take over control again.

Currently, BlueCruise is available for all new Ford Mustang Mach-Es since last September. It will also be rolled out to older units later via a software update. In the meantime, Ford also wants to introduce this technology to other new, technologically advanced models, such as the Explorer or the new Capri.