The American automobile giant General Motors announced in a press release on Tuesday that it would abandon the robotaxis activity of its Cruise subsidiary to concentrate on the development of advanced driver assistance systems for cars sold to individuals.
Cruise was among the pioneers of autonomous driving technology and had a fleet of driverless taxis, or robotaxis, in several American city centers, until a serious accident in late 2023 in San Francisco. One of his vehicles had driven over a pedestrian who had just been hit by another vehicle, with a driver.
The authorities had withdrawn the company’s permit, in particular because of its handling of the incident: the employees had taken several days to reveal that the robotaxi had not remained still. His maneuver to pull over had the effect of dragging the pedestrian for a distance of several meters.
Following this episode, General Motors (GM) strengthened control over the subsidiary. Cruise co-founder Kyle Vogt had to resign and Cruise had laid off 900 employees, a quarter of its staff.
The company had gradually resumed its development activities, under supervision, and should be available on the platform of the car reservation giant, Uber, during the first half of 2025. But GM announced on Tuesday its decision to integrate engineers from its subsidiary into its teams to work on its assisted and autonomous driving technology.
“Consistent with its capital allocation priorities, GM will no longer fund Cruise’s robotaxis development work, given the considerable time and resources that would be required to scale the company, especially in a market of more more competitive,” indicates the manufacturer.
Honda, an investor in Cruise, had planned to launch a robotaxis service in Japan in 2026, but is now considering revising its plans, according to an interview with CNBC. Waymo, the subsidiary of Alphabet (parent company of Google) has taken a head start on this market with its driverless Jaguars widely used in several large American cities, such as Phoenix (Arizona) and San Francisco.
In early October, Tesla unveiled its robotaxi, called Cybercab, but revealed that production is not expected to begin until 2026. And autonomous vehicles from Zoox, an Amazon subsidiary, are being tested and deployed in restricted areas of Las Vegas and San Francisco. Unlike the Cruise and Waymo, they don’t have a steering wheel, the four seats face inward, and they can drive in either direction, without turning around.
General Motors said in its statement that the company remains “fully committed” to the pursuit of autonomous driving for consumer cars.
“Our commitment to driver assistance and autonomous technology to make driving safer, more accessible and less stressful is unwavering,” assured Mary Barra, the group’s boss, during a conference for analysts. The manufacturer’s action gained more than 2% during electronic trading after the close of the New York Stock Exchange.
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