Ford to offer eyes-off driving tech with $30,000 EV in 2028
Jim Farley, Ford’s president and chief executive officer, speaks at Ford Motor Co.’s Kentucky Truck Plant for the launch of the 2025 Ford Expedition on April 30, 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky.
Carolyn Kaster | access point
Ford Motor The Detroit automaker announced Wednesday that it plans to introduce secluded driving technology in a $30,000 all-electric vehicle in 2028.
The goal puts Ford in a race against rivals such as: Tesla’s, General Engines And Rivian Automotive Developing and widely launching such systems is what Wall Street sees as a potential growth market for fully autonomous vehicles.
Ford’s plan is similar to that of other automakers, but the company specifically plans to offer the new system in a mainstream EV first rather than in a more expensive model; This challenges typical technology offerings in the automotive industry.
“This is part of what’s evolving as a broader technology strategy to put our best and newest technology where the volume and availability is,” Doug Field, Ford’s head of EV, digital and design, told CNBC during an interview.
The first vehicle with the new system is expected to be built on the company’s upcoming “Universal EV platform.” Ford said It has the capacity to support a variety of vehicles. The first is a midsize pickup truck for around $30,000 that will be available in 2027.
Field joined Ford after working with Ford. Apple and Tesla said the first vehicle with an eyes-covering system would come at that starting price, but did not reveal whether it would be a pickup truck.
Field announced the eye-off system at the CES technology show in Las Vegas, among other plans including a new vehicle software architecture and a Ford-designed artificial intelligence assistant.
GM announced similar plans in October, including an AI assistant and eye-off system in the electric Cadillac Escalade IQ, expected to debut in 2028. The price of this vehicle is currently more than $127,000.
skunkworks
Ford, under CEO leadership Jim Farley is under pressure to deliver the new vehicle platform known as UEV and supporting technologies that largely fall under Field.
The company has wasted billions of dollars in recent years due to quality and production issues as well as changing EV strategies.
Ford has significantly reduced its spending on EVs and shifted its focus from large all-electric pickup trucks and SUVs to smaller, more affordable models through a special project, or “skunkworks,” team that builds the UEV platform. Ford announced its plans investment of approximately 5 billion dollars They produce the vehicles and the batteries to power them in US factories.
Field referred to the skunkworks team as a “bet” that has “started to build a tremendous amount of confidence” over the last few years.
“One of the things we’ve seen is how much faster our development process has run on this product and this architecture compared to what we’ve done in the past,” Field said. “So, we’re very confident in our ability to get this out.”
Ford said last month it expects to record about $19.5 billion in special items by 2027 due to such restructuring efforts and a pullback in EV investments.
driving with eyes closed
Field said Ford’s planned eye-off system, which the auto industry calls “Level 3 driving automation,” will leverage an array of sensors and in-house software development to lower costs compared to rivals.
Field declined to comment on the roadmap for expanding the new system to other vehicles, but said the aim was to commoditize the technology.
“The actual distribution schedule will be based on a lot of the work we need to do about which customers need it in their applications, when, and which products are most ready for it,” Field said. “It will take time to roll this out everywhere, but we will prioritize it based on where we can make the biggest impact on customers.”
Ford’s BlueCruise system is shown on the driver information panel of an F-150 pickup truck.
ford
SAE International, formerly known as the Society of Automotive Engineers characterized automatic driving For vehicles from Tier 0 to Tier 5. The highest level, Level 5, is a fully autonomous vehicle; From level 0 onwards, more technology is added at each stage, allowing human drivers to be more “out of the loop.”
Ford currently offers Level 2 advanced driver assistance system, or ADAS, known as BlueCruise. When active, a vehicle can drive itself on divided roads under certain conditions without the need for human intervention, but drivers still need to pay attention to the roads and the system in case of problems.
Artificial intelligence assistant, new vehicle ‘brain’
Ford’s new AI assistant is expected to launch via phone apps for Ford and Lincoln in early 2026, followed by a native in-car experience starting in 2027, the company said Wednesday.
Many other automakers have also announced plans for AI digital assistants, but Field said he believes Ford will use each vehicle’s unique identification number to offer unique capabilities specific to each car or truck.
Ford said its AI assistant could examine a picture of a trailer to verify whether a vehicle is pulling it properly, for example, or assess how many bags of mulch the interior of a car or truck can hold.
“The AI companion is something we thought we could do specifically for Ford, representative of what we’re trying to do on the customer experience side,” Field said.
The updated in-house software architecture, which Ford calls an “integrated digital platform” that will debut with the UEV platform, is expected to help better customer experience.
The updated system will result in “a more unified ‘brain’ inside the vehicle – a single, powerful module combining infotainment, ADAS, audio and networking,” the company said.
“For customers, this means a vehicle that feels more consistent, more reliable, and more capable with each passing year,” Field said in a blog post accompanying the CES announcements.
