Ford has withdrawn its request for US regulatory approval to deploy up to 2,500 self-driving vehicles without human controls following the decision to close Ford- and  Volkswagen-backed autonomous vehicle unit Argo AI in October 2022.

Ford noted that the company will instead be focusing on SAE Level 2 and Level 3 technologies that do not require an exemption or petition approval including partially automated driving systems  (i.e. Level 2: the vehicles can control both the speed and the steering, but a safety driver must maintain full vigilance, and Level 3: the driver is not required to maintain full vigilance but must be able to take control if necessary).

Ford applied for approval in June 2021 mentioning its intentions to deploy self-driving vehicles for ride-hailing and package delivery applications. However, the company now believes that achieving fully autonomous vehicles on a large scale, along with a profitable business model, would be challenging and time-consuming; hence, the shift.

Analyst QuickTake: As Ford shifts its focus from fully autonomous to partial, it also established a dedicated unit called “Latitude AI” to develop advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) solutions for its vehicles earlier this month. Furthermore, we currently notice continuous struggles of autonomous vehicle tech developers to bring their products to the market. In fact, Apple scaled back its plans self-driving passenger vehicle project in December 2022; peer startup Pony.ai announced an internal restructuring in November; and Aurora Innovation is also reportedly considering strategic actions, including the sale of the company. Intel’s autonomous tech development unit Mobileye also went public in October but only at one-third of the valuation initially targeted. These recent developments suggest that autonomous vehicles will take a while to hit their stride.