Autonomous Driving: BMW removes Level 3 from 7 Series

Watching a movie or reading a book in traffic jams or slow-moving traffic: In Germany, this is permitted with highly automated driving at Level 3 up to 60/95 km/h. Currently, only BMW in the 7 Series and Mercedes in its S-Class and EQS offer this option at a high surcharge. After Mercedes already backed down on Level 3 with the announcement of the revised S-Class, BMW is now following suit. The focus is on Level 2+ for now.

Little interest

This is reported by Automobilwoche (paywall) citing a company spokesperson. For the BMW 7 Series facelift, expected at the end of April 2026, there will be no more “Personal Pilot L3”. BMW cited reasons such as limited customer benefit and a lack of demand. For the option introduced in March 2024, BMW charged an additional 6000 Euro. With the driving assistant, drivers could direct their attention to other activities on motorways with physically separated lanes and at speeds of up to 60 km/h.

The counterpart from Mercedes for the S-Class and EQS, introduced in 2022, had a similar scope. However, the “Drive Pilot” was allowed to drive highly automated at speeds of up to 95 km/h since the end of 2024 with the approval of the KBA. In the S-Class facelift, Mercedes had also removed the Level 3 option due to lack of interest.

Level 2+

Instead, both Mercedes and BMW are currently focusing on Level 2+ or 2++, which is cheaper for both the car manufacturer (due to expensive sensors) and the customers. In assisted driving mode, the driver remains fully responsible. BMW also uses assisted driving in the iX3 of the New Class: the so-called Autobahn Assistant supports speeds up to 130 km/h, where the driver can take their hands off the steering wheel but must always remain attentive and ready to take over the steering. The vehicle can assist with lane changes: by looking into the side mirror, the vehicle initiates a lane change and performs the necessary steering movements and speed adjustments. This gesture complements the previous activation of the lane change assistant by operating the turn signal lever.

BMW's Autobahn Assistant costs an extra 1450 Euro for the iX3 as part of the “Autobahn- & City-Assistant” optional equipment. For the 7 Series, we expect a similar surcharge. In addition to the Autobahn Assistant, the City Assistant is also included, which allows stopping at red lights and automatic restarting. In the revised S-Class, Mercedes optionally offers the MB.Drive Assist Pro assistance system, which combines assistance at SAE Level 2++ with navigation. It is also available in the new CLA.

(afl)