Most cars on the market today are at the Level 1 self-driving level, with technologies like adaptive cruise control or lane-keeping assistance appearing more and more widely.
Level 0 Self-Driving: At present, there is hardly any car model on the market that is still at this level of self-driving. Level 0 self-driving means all vehicle operations are controlled by the user without any support from the system – Photo: Carscoops
Level 1 self-driving: Most cars on the market today are at the Level 1 self-driving level, with technologies like adaptive cruise control or lane keeping assist becoming more and more widely visible. At this stage of self-driving, the system only helps users with a few simple operations, with the driver still the main operator – Photo: Carscoops
Level 2 Self-Driving: At Level 2 self-driving, the car can adjust both acceleration and steering, but the person behind the wheel is still the main driver. Some high-end Level 2 self-driving car models allow users to temporarily become a “co-pilot” but these are quite limited. When required, the system will immediately notify the driver to regain control and so they always need to focus on the road ahead – Photo: Carscoops
Level 3 Self-Driving: At this level, users can temporarily take their hands off the steering wheel and even take their eyes off the road ahead in extreme situations. Autonomous systems can take care of most of the driving, but in some cases the user still needs to take control. There are currently some cars on the market in the US/Europe with Level 3 self-driving systems, such as the EQS and S-Class – Photo: Carscoops
Level 4 Self-Driving: Level 4 self-driving is not currently available on any finished vehicles, but only on test vehicles. At this stage, the vehicle can operate 100% autonomously, but only in certain areas with detailed maps. Tesla has promised to equip its cars with Level 4 self-driving technology in late 2023 – early 2024, but the company’s on-time rate is not high – Photo: Carscoops
Level 5 Self-Driving: The “final” level of self-driving when the user’s car can perform all operations for them at any time, anywhere. Vehicles at this level of self-driving do not even need a steering wheel or pedals if the user does not need them. However, certainly no car company can reach this level of self-driving before 2035 – 2040 – Photo: Carscoops
