Mercedes-Benz Adds Automatic Lane Change Feature to European Models
Already available in the U.S. and Canada, Mercedes-Benz customers in Europe can now take advantage of the partially autonomous feature.
Last year, Mercedes-Benz rolled out the Automatic Lane Change (ALC) function in the U.S. and Canada, giving customers in those countries the ability to sample yet another component of partial autonomy. Now, the automaker is shifting its focus to Europe and has also added ALC to the Driving Assistance Plus Package for a grand total of 15 models across 33 countries – making it available via an over-the-air update for convenience’s sake.
ALC is now available for the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, E-Class, S-Class, GLC, CLE, EQE, EQS, EQS SUV, and EQE SUV in Europe, which it says will impact 200,000 vehicles already in operation in that part of the world that have already been delivered, plus new models that have yet to be sold moving forward. Owners of eligible vehicles will be notified when the update is available, after which they can initiate it via the update assistant on the display of the MBUX infotainment system or the Mercedes Me App.
Making it easier to change lanes and overtake
ALC adds to the 40+ driving assistance systems already available from Mercedes‑Benz and enables a vehicle to automatically initiate a lane change on suitable roads when Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC is activated, to overtake slower cars or follow the route to the next exit. To operate ALC, the driver simply sets their desired speed in the adaptive cruise control, at which point Active Steering Assist is automatically activated and changes lanes as needed from there on.
ALC uses radar sensors and cameras to constantly monitor the vehicle’s surroundings in order to overtake slower cars and then return to the original lane, or to navigate to the junctions or exits one wishes to go when route guidance is active. However, ALC only works on “suitable” roads, or ones that have at least two separate lanes with clear lane markings and enough space to execute the lane change. In Europe, it’s also limited to speeds of between 80 to 140 kilometers per hour.
“With the Automatic Lane Change function, Mercedes-Benz is once again demonstrating its innovative strength in the development of new driving assistance systems. We simultaneously developed the Automatic Lane Change function, or ALC for short, in North America, Europe, and China for our local customers. With ALC, Mercedes-Benz is offering a driving function as an over-the-air update for the first time.”
Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Chief Technology Officer.
Photos: Mercedes-Benz
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