Published , by Sam Chandler
Published , by Sam Chandler
As one of the leaders in the electric vehicle space, many eyes are on GM when it comes to full self-driving and other important features. It appears as though the company is redirecting its efforts for the time being, opting to focus on driver assistance systems as it restructures Cruise.
On December 10, 2024, GM issued a press release stating it is refocusing autonomous driving development and instead prioritizing driver assistance systems. The company states that this is a path to fully autonomous personal vehicles.
This endeavour will build upon Super Cruise, GM’s hands-off, eyes-on feature. To this end, GM has an agreement with its shareholders to raise Cruise ownership to 97 percent and will then seek to repurchase the remaining shares of Cruise. The goal is to restructure Cruise’s operations, which is estimated to lower GM’s spending by $1 billion annually. This is expected to occur in the first half of 2025.
While this focus on driver assistance systems sees GM taking a step back from full self-driving, the company still has plans to pursue the feature. “As the largest U.S. automotive manufacturer, we’re fully committed to autonomous driving and excited to bring GM customers its benefits,” Dave Richardson, senior vice president of software and services engineering at GM stated. “Things like enhanced safety, improved traffic flow, increased accessibility, and reduced driver stress.”
GM is taking a step back from the robotaxi space as well, sighting an “increasingly competitive robotaxi market.” As such, GM will no longer fund Cruise’s robotaxi development due to the “considerable time and resources that would be needed to scale the business.” The competitive robotaxi environment is likely a reference to Tesla’s own robotaxi plans. The company recently unveiled its Cybercab that is expected to be priced under $30,000, as well as an autonomous 20-person Robovan.
While autonomous driving is still a major feature car manufacturers are attempting to develop, it seems as though the path there is longer than many assumed. Be sure to keep an eye on our Electric Vehicles page for more information.