GM Strategy for a Self-Aided Fleet of Vehicles and Systems that Can Drive by Theyself: A Comment on GM CEO Mary Barra
When it finishes acquiring the remaining shares, GM anticipates achieving cost savings of $1 billion annually, GM chief financial officer Paul Jacobson said.
The new unit of GM will focus on personal vehicles and systems that can drive by themselves in certain circumstances, according to GM CEO Mary Barra.
After one of the company’s self paced vehicles hit and severely injured a woman in San Francisco, Cruise’s commercial fleet was put on hiatus. The company was going to start testing in California as well, but it has resumed it’s testing in Arizona and Texas.
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.”
Mary Barra said Tuesday that combining forces would be more efficient because of the time and expense required for a business to scale.
The company will use Cruise technology to refine its Super Cruise tech, which is designed to perform some hands-free driving tasks on specific highways. Drivers are warned to always stay alert while using Super Cruise, which cannot drive “autonomously.”
Someday, GM will sell levels 4 and 4e vehicles, which can drive autonomously, to car buyers. People love to drive their own cars, but they’re not always in every situation.
Cruise’s Workforce at the Turn of a New Millenium: Job Opportunities for Autonomous Drivers and Driverless Jaguars
GM said that Cruise has 2,300 employees, and will keep a presence in San Francisco. Until the restructuring is completed next year, it’s not a good time to talk about employment levels.
Cruise will work with GM to improve their driver-assisted systems. Dave Richardson said that Cruise will work with GM to improve their driver-assisted systems.
In order to broaden its service, the company is stepping up plans to include areas beyond Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Last week the company said it would begin testing its driverless Jaguars in Miami next year, with plans to start charging for rides in 2026.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said his company plans to have autonomous Models Y and 3 running without human drivers next year. In California and Texas it would be possible to have robotaxis without steering wheels.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration looked into Full Self-Driving’s ability to see in low visibility and found that there was a doubt on whether the cars are ready to be deployed without humans behind the steering wheel.
The move is another step back from autonomous vehicles, which have proved far harder to develop than companies once anticipated. Ford Motor Company dismantled its self-drive initiative in Pittsburgh two years ago.
GM invested billions of dollars in the subsidiary and eventually bought 80% of the company from its investors in order to rack up losses.