GM to retreat from robotaxis and stop funding autonomous vehicle unit
10 December 2024, 22:54
Instead, the Detroit car maker will focus on development of partially automated driver-assist systems such as its Super Cruise.
General Motors (GM) has said it will retreat from the robotaxi business and stop funding its money-losing Cruise autonomous vehicle unit.
Instead, the Detroit car maker will focus on development of partially automated driver-assist systems such as its Super Cruise, which allows drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel.
GM said it would get out of robotaxis “given the considerable time and resources that would be needed to scale the business, along with an increasingly competitive robotaxi market”.
The company said it will combine Cruise’s technical team with its own to work on advanced systems to assist drivers.
GM bought Cruise automation in 2016 for at least one billion dollars (£0.8 billion) with high hopes of developing a profitable fleet of robotaxis.
Over the years GM invested billions in the subsidiary and eventually bought 90% of the company from investors.
GM even announced plans for Cruise to generate a billion dollars in annual revenue by 2025, but it scaled back spending on the company after one of its autonomous Chevrolet Bolts dragged a San Francisco pedestrian who was hit by another vehicle in 2023.
The California Public Utilities Commission alleged Cruise then covered up details of the crash for more than two weeks.
The incident resulted in Cruise’s licence to operate its driverless fleet in California being suspended by regulators and triggered a purge of its leadership — in addition to layoffs that jettisoned about a quarter of its workforce.
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