The plan is to continue autonomous-car research using next-gen Chevy Bolts, which will be easier to make meet regulations
- GM is abandoning its driverless Cruise Origin taxi and will instead use the next-generation Chevrolet Bolt for its autonomous programs
- The Origin’s lack of a steering wheel makes it hard for that vehicle to meet regulations, plus it’s expensive to build
- Cruise had to suspend its driverless rides when one of its vehicles dragged a pedestrian in a crash
General Motors hasn’t entirely given up on self-driving cars, but it is slowing down on them right now. In the automaker’s most recent quarterly letter to shareholders, CEO Mary Barra revealed it’s giving up on the Cruise Origin, an odd-looking vehicle meant to autonomously ferry passengers around without the need for a steering wheel.
GM hasn’t been going the driverless route alone. In 2016, it bought a majority stake in Cruise, based in San Francisco and founded in 2013 by Kyle Vogt. Believing that autonomous cars were the key to road safety, his company equipped existing vehicles with computers to operate as driverless taxis. Companies including Honda, Walmart, and Microsoft have provided funding, but it was GM that took over with a US$1-billion stake. Following the purchase, GM president Dan Ammann became Cruise’s CEO, and he rapidly expanded it.
On June 11, 2024, Cruise issued a statement saying it had resumed supervised autonomous driving in Phoenix, Houston, and Dallas, and would gradually expand it to other cities in Arizona. The vehicles would drive themselves but with a “safety driver” behind the wheel. California hasn’t so far lifted its ban.
That Cruise driverless program will continue, according to Barra’s quarterly report, but the Cruise team “will also simplify their path to scale by focusing their next autonomous vehicle on the next-generation Chevrolet Bolt, instead of the Origin.”
That’s primarily due to the “regulatory uncertainty we faced with the Origin because of its unique design” — it wasn’t spelled out, but we suspect it has much to do with its lack of a steering wheel and pedals and, because of that, no chance of putting a safety driver behind the wheel. Along with that, “per-unit costs will be much lower, which will help Cruise optimize its resources.” The Cruise division posted a US$1.4-billion operating loss in the second quarter of 2024.
Barra also said that while GM has a “consistently high performing portfolio of ICE (internal-combustion engine) trucks and SUVs on a volume, share, and margin basis,” the EV portfolio is “scaling well.” The company reports sales of 21,930 electric vehicles in the second quarter of 2024, an increase of 34% over the first three months, and 40% more than the same period in 2023.
The next-generation Chevrolet Bolt is expected to go into production in 2025, but with no word on when an autonomous model could be driving driverlessly on public roads.
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