Image: Ford

On Friday, Ford Motor Company announced the pricing for its driver-assistance technology. Ford’s Active Drive Assist system leverages a suite of technologies including camera and radar to enable hands-free driving. Ford also announced vehicle package options, early adopter pricing discounts, scheduling information for over-the-air software updates, and more.

“As breakthroughs in new technology allow us to help reduce the stress of long highway drives, it’s important to make sure these capabilities can be enjoyed by the largest spread of people possible,” said Hau Thai-Tang, chief product platform and operations officer at Ford Motor Company, in a press release.

SEE: TechRepublic Premium editorial calendar: IT policies, checklists, toolkits, and research for download (TechRepublic Premium)

Ford’s Active Drive Assist: Pricing packages and more

The 2021 F-150 and 2021 Mustang Mach-E will be the first Ford models to receive the new Active Drive Assist feature and these vehicles will be available in late 2020. The company said that the driver-assistance will come standard “on certain models” and be offered as a “relatively affordable option” for others.

On the F-150, the Active Drive Assist system will cost $1,595 as part of the Co-Pilot 360 Active 2.0 package. This package is a standard feature on the F-150 Limited. The Ford Co-Pilot 360 Active 2.0 package is an available option on King Ranch, Lariat, and Platinum models. Active Drive Assist will be standard on the Mustang Mach-E for Premium, First Edition variants, and CA Route 1. The system will cost $3,200 on Select trims.

The Ford Co-Pilot 360 Active 2.0 Prep package will provide the Active Drive Assist hardware for customers who purchase the F-150 and Mustang Mach-E at launch. The software will also be available via an over-the-air update for $600. Those who choose this option will receive the update in the third quarter of 2021, per Ford. Ford notes that this update “will be an early demonstration of the Ford system’s bumper-to-bumper update capability to wirelessly update nearly all vehicle computer models.”

Ford also announced a $100 early adopter incentive allowing early F-150 customers to buy both the Active Park Assist 2.0 and Active Drive Assist for $895. Customers will be able to buy the software for $600 once Active Drive Assist “is ready to launch with software updates,” and receive this as an over-the-air update, per Ford.

SEE: Software as a Service (SaaS): A cheat sheet (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

“Active Drive Assist can help improve the driving experience while ensuring people remain aware and fully in control, all for a price unmatched by our competitors – a commitment to affordable innovations that has driven us since Henry Ford put the world on wheels,” Thai-Tang said.

Ford anticipates it will sell over 100,000 F-150 and Mustang Mach-E with Active Drive Assist hardware in the first year. These projections were made using the company’s take-rate estimates and sales data.