Ford is trying to do something that, until now, has belonged to six-figure luxury cars: put legally “eyes off” driving into a mass-market electric vehicle that costs about as much as a midrange crossover. The company is building a new $30,000 battery-powered pickup on a fresh platform and promising Level 3 autonomy that lets drivers look away from the road in specific conditions. If it delivers, the move could reset expectations for what an affordable EV can be and force rivals to rethink both pricing and technology roadmaps.
Instead of chasing ever-bigger batteries or outlandish performance figures, Ford is betting that everyday convenience and lower costs will win over skeptical buyers. The plan leans on cheaper components, including battery technology from China’s CATL, and a simplified chassis to keep the sticker price down while still funding a sophisticated sensor and software stack. I see that combination as a direct challenge to the idea that true hands-free, eyes-off driving has to be a luxury feature.
The $30,000 EV that wants to drive itself
At the center of Ford’s strategy is a compact electric pickup that targets a base price of $30,000, a figure that immediately sets it apart in a market where many EV trucks cost two or three times as much. CEO Jim Farley has framed the truck as the first showcase for a new Ford Universal EV Platf, a flexible architecture designed to underpin multiple models while sharing core components. By standardizing the underpinnings, Ford can spread development costs across a family of vehicles and still justify the investment in advanced driver assistance hardware that will eventually support Level 3 autonomy.
To make the economics work, the automaker is leaning heavily on cost-cutting in areas that do not directly affect the driving experience. Instead of developing every component in-house, Ford is sourcing batteries from China’s CATL and pairing them with its own low-cost chassis, a combination that is meant to keep the truck firmly in the mass-market electric vehicle segment. Reporting on the company’s CES presence describes how Jan announcements emphasized this balance between affordability and autonomy, positioning the truck as a practical work and family vehicle that just happens to be able to drive itself in certain scenarios.
From hands-free to eyes-off: Ford’s Level 3 leap
Ford is not starting from scratch on driver assistance, but the leap it is promising is significant. Today, systems like BlueCruise are classified as Level 2, which means the car can handle steering and speed on mapped highways but the driver must keep eyes on the road and be ready to intervene at any moment. The company now says its Next EV Pickup will Get Level 3 capability, described explicitly as “Hands” and “Free” in its roadmap, allowing drivers to legally take their eyes off the road when the system is engaged and conditions are met. Ford Motor Company has confirmed that this Level 3 “Hands-Free, Eyes-Off” technology is planned to arrive by 2028 on the Next EV Pickup, with a broader rollout to follow.
The jump from Level 2 to Level 3 is not just a software update, it is a legal and technical threshold that changes what drivers are allowed to do behind the wheel. At Level 3, the system, not the human, is considered the primary driver in defined conditions, which means people can look away from the road and even engage in other activities like watching videos while commuting. Ford’s planned eyes-off system is being described as a subscription feature, and coverage of the company’s strategy notes that Level 3 is seen inside the company as a “massive step up” that will require careful pricing and customer education.
Why 2028 is Ford’s autonomy tipping point
Ford has now tied its most ambitious autonomy promises to a specific year, saying that in 2028 drivers of its vehicles will be able to take their eyes off the road and let the car handle the task in defined situations. Internal messaging shared through Ford and Lincoln channels describes a future where customers can rely on the system for extended stretches of highway driving, with the company also planning to roll out an artificial intelligence tool in the Ford and Lincoln app to help manage vehicle features and services. The framing in those communications is clear: by Jan 2028, Ford expects eyes-off driving to be a normal part of its EV lineup, not a niche experiment.
Executives are also positioning 2028 as the moment when Ford’s software and hardware stack matures into a new kind of vehicle “brain.” Doug Field, a senior leader who joined Ford after working on high-profile EV programs elsewhere, has described a plan to integrate an AI assistant, a centralized computing architecture, and Level 3 autonomy into a cohesive package. Reporting on his comments notes that Field contrasted Ford’s upcoming $30,000 EV with existing Level 3 offerings that start at more than $127,000, arguing that the company can democratize the technology by rethinking the entire vehicle platform. That vision is reflected in coverage of Ford’s Field-led roadmap, which casts 2028 as a tipping point where advanced autonomy and mainstream pricing finally intersect.
BlueCruise, AI assistants and the new in-car “brain”
Underneath the headline promise of eyes-off driving, Ford is quietly rebuilding the digital foundation of its vehicles. The company has outlined a multi-year BlueCruise roadmap that evolves today’s highway assist into a more capable system, while also introducing an AI-powered digital assistant that can understand natural language and anticipate driver needs. At CES, Ford Outlines AI Assistant and a broader Roadmap that includes testing the assistant on smartphones ahead of in-car deployment, a move that lets the company refine voice recognition and personalization before it is responsible for critical driving tasks. That staged approach, described in detail in coverage of Ford Motor Company’s Ford Outlines AI plans, suggests a recognition that trust in the software layer will be just as important as trust in the sensors.
At the same time, Ford is promising to debut eyes-off autonomous driving in 2028 on its upcoming $30K electric pickup, tying the BlueCruise evolution directly to a specific product. The company used CES to confirm that the truck will be the first to offer Level 3 capability on a subscription basis, with the hardware built in from launch even if the full software stack arrives later. Reports on those announcements describe how Ford used CES to frame the pickup as the spearhead of its autonomy push, with the AI assistant, centralized “brain,” and Level 3 system all converging in a single, relatively affordable vehicle.
Safety, rivals and the road to mass adoption
Level 3 autonomy raises obvious safety questions, and Ford is signaling that it understands the stakes. The company’s planned system is described as monitoring weather, road conditions and driver attention, only enabling eyes-off mode when it determines that the environment is suitable. Coverage of the technical approach notes that the goal is to create a more relaxed and productive journey without lulling drivers into a false sense of security, with the system ready to hand control back if conditions deteriorate. In that context, Ford’s bet on Level 3 is framed as part of a broader industry trend in which Driver-assistance systems that automatically steer and brake are becoming a central battleground for automakers.
Ford is also clearly watching how competitors price and position their own autonomy packages. Some rivals charge thousands of dollars upfront for advanced driver assistance, while others lean on monthly subscriptions that can be activated or canceled over the life of the vehicle. In explaining its own strategy, Ford has contrasted its $30,000 electric truck with more expensive Level 3 offerings and highlighted how it does not need massive batteries or extreme performance to justify the technology. One detailed look at How Ford wants to put self-driving into a $30,000 electric truck underscores that the company sees Level 3 as a legal threshold as much as a technical one, and is designing the vehicle so buyers can choose how much autonomy they actually want to pay for.
Regulators and consumers will ultimately decide whether Ford’s 2028 target is realistic, but the company is already laying the groundwork with public commitments and detailed timelines. Coverage of its autonomy plans notes that Ford announces Level 3 autonomous driving coming to EVs in 2028, with reporting by Nora Eckert and Abhirup Roy for Reuters emphasizing how the company is trying to avoid overpromising after earlier industry missteps. If Ford can actually deliver a $30,000 electric pickup that lets drivers legally take their eyes off the road in defined conditions, it will not just be catching up in the autonomy race, it will be redefining what mainstream car buyers expect from an everyday EV.
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