BEIJING – Geely premium electric carmaker Zeekr aims to follow Mercedes-Benz and BMW by offering Level 3 autonomy in European markets where the technology is allowed, the head of the brand's Swedish R&D facility said.
The automaker's two European models – the X compact SUV and 001 midsize shooting brake – could offer hands- and eyes-off driving at speeds up to 130 kph (81 mph), Zeekr Technology Europe boss Giovanni Lanfranchi told Automotive News Europe.
So far, only Mercedes-Benz and BMW offer Level 3 capability in Europe. The German automakers limit use of the autonomous driving option to highways and a maximum speed of 60 kph.
Mercedes will increase that speed in Europe to 90 kph by the end of this year, head engineer Christoph Starzynski told journalists on the sidelines of the Beijing auto show.
Chinese EV makers have rapidly rolled out Level 2 autonomy in their home market but have been more cautious about offering those systems in Europe, where they need to access new mapping.
Level 3 autonomy is not currently permitted in China.
Zeekr was the first automaker to use Mobileye's advanced Supervision suite of sensors, which give its cars a top level of advanced driving assistance but stop short of allowing the driver to hand over full control.
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Mobileye CEO Amnon Shashua has previous told Automotive News Europe that Supervision has the capability to offer Level 3 autonomy if imaging radars and a front-facing lidar are added.
Zeekr has not decided whether it will move to Level 3 with Mobileye's Supervision or with an in-house solution using Nvidia's Orin chips, Lanfranchi said.
Zeekr Technology Europe, formerly known as CEVT, helps develop advanced driver assistance systems and software for the Geely Group, which includes Volvo Cars, Polestar and Lotus.
Engineering a Mercedes to be Level 3-capable is currently too expensive for anything but the automaker's S-Class and EQS flagships sedans as well as its similar-priced models, Starzynski said.
"There is a big jump from L2 to L3 when it comes to technology, liability ¬– everything. You are talking about a completely different animal," he said. Expensive additional sensors, including ones to listen for sirens and register raindrops, are needed as well as a more costly, high-definition map, Starzynski added.
Zeekr didn't say whether it would match Mercedes when it came to the sensors its system offers. Although they are not required by EU regulations, a big reason Mercedes includes extra sensors is because the automaker is liable if there is an accident when the Level 3 system is activated.
Some automakers, including Bentley, Volvo and Audi, have walked away from developing and deploying Level 3 features in recent years. Their main concern is that the driver must be ready to retake control at any time.
"We think Level 3 is dangerous from all the testing analysis that we have done because it relied too much on recovery of attention and intervention from the driver," departing Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark told journalists in March.
BMW offers its Personal Pilot L3 technology in some versions of the new 7 Series and the full-electric i7 Xdrive60 sedan. The option costs €6,000 in Germany.
BMW followed Mercedes-Benz, which started offering Level 3 autonomous driving in Germany on its EQS and S-Class sedans in May 2022. Mercedes also offers the technology in the U.S. states of California and Nevada.
Mercedes, however, is not rushing to increase the speed at which its L3 system can operate in the U.S.
"There you find small construction sites, which are here today, gone tomorrow," Starzynski said. "You can't keep up with them on the mapping."
CLARIFICATION: After this article was published, Zeekr said Giovanni Lanfranchi misspoke about the automaker's plans for the European introduction of Level 3 capabilities or hands-off and eyes-off driving.
In a statement, Zeekr said: "The Zeekr 001 and Zeekr X on sale in Europe offer L2 ADAS functions. Like most advanced automakers, Zeekr is working on increased levels of advanced driver assistance systems to bring to market and benefit customers. However, no details or timing have been communicated."
