Stellantis Lands Major Self-Driving Blow Against Rival American Automakers

New technologies that will roll out across its brand lineup were announced at the Stellantis Investor Day last week. These include three new technology platforms, all of which will be powered by artificial intelligence and have major ramifications for the conglomerate’s future vehicles. While we’ve heard of STLA Brain and STLA SmartCockpit before, the two debuting on the Chrysler Airflow concept in 2022, STLA AutoDrive is the one we’re most excited about after being told it could provide Level 4 Autonomy in the Halcyon concept. But it’s no longer a distant-future technology, as AutoDrive will begin a mass-market rollout this year, replacing the Hands-Free Active Driving Assist the company currently offers and is designed to compete with the likes of GM Super Cruise and Ford BlueCruise.

All three systems will be powered by the STLA Brain architecture, which is a cloud-integrated system that accesses all of a vehicle’s sensors and actuators. Running on Qualcomm chips, it cuts in half the number of electronic control units (ECUs) needed for each vehicle. It will also be capable of over-the-air (OTA) updates and even speed up development time by 75 percent.

First Level 3 Autonomous Driving System From An American Automaker

The big news for this new system is the introduction of STLA AutoDrive. The current Hands-Free Active Driving Assist in Stellantis vehicles is a Level 2 system, which will be replaced by this new, more capable one. It’s been in development since 2021 and is due to be ready for production by the end of the year. Once ready, expect to see it roll out in 2025 model-year vehicles. Maybe your next Jeep Wrangler or Ram 1500 will let you sit back and relax while it does the hard work of driving down the highway.

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According to Stellantis, AutoDrive will support Level 2, Level 2+, and Level 3 autonomous driving, which is huge news. Most current systems, including Tesla FSD, BlueCruise, Super Cruise, and a variety of others, are Level 2+ at best, meaning while drivers can relax and enjoy the ride hands-free, they must keep eyes on the road and be ready to take over from the car with little to no warning. Comparatively, Level 3 systems are hands-free/eyes-free systems that allow you to completely disengage on predetermined routes, read a book, browse social media, and only take over control when the car is unable to continue.

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The difference truly lies in the legal liability. Anything under Level 3 carries liability on you as the driver, while automakers assume liability when Level 3 systems are engaged. At present, only one automaker has a Level 3 system approved for use in the United States: Mercedes-Benz. Honda and BMW have developed similar systems, which are in use in Japan and Germany, but these haven’t come to America yet, where approval is limited by state. Even Mercedes’ system can only be used in Nevada and California for the time being.

There’s still time for Ford, GM, Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid to clap back with their own systems, but as it stands, Stellantis is likely to become the first American automaker with Level 3 autonomous driving capabilities. Stellantis says eyes-off technology will be ready by the end of the year with a commercial launch next year, but again, in the US, this will require state-specific approval.

A Gradual Rollout

It won’t be a sudden rollout, either, but rather a slow increase in functionality. The need for driver intervention will grow from 10 minutes, to 20, and eventually to 40 minutes with full Level 3 restricted to highway use only, likely on predetermined routes where conditions, road markings, and signage are sufficient. The upside is that any updates can be rolled out through over-the-air updates.

Also coming soon is the STLA Smart Cockpit, which will introduce a new user interface utilizing AI along with ChatGPT for voice commands. The Stellantis plan will upgrade the technologies of its vehicles in every way to keep it competitive for the future.