Automotive OEM General Motors is exiting the robotaxi business and combining its wholly owned Cruise Automation division into its technical teams to focus instead on fully autonomous personal vehicles.
The move comes after years-long issues with Cruise that started with following growing safety concerns after a Cruise robotaxi ran over a pedestrian who had been hit by another human-driven car. Due to these concerns and a lack of profit, GM said it would cut about $1 billion in spending on the unit.
This resulted in Cruise suspending all supervised and driverless rides in the U.S. The fallout continued with the resignation of former Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt and chief product officer Daniel Kan. Nine other executives were fired. GM shortly then resumed testing in Arizona earlier this year but now the company will completely get out of robotaxis.
Super Cruise
GM said it will build on its Super Cruise technology — a hands-off, eyes-on driving feature that is available in more than 20 vehicle models. The company said it has already logged more than 10 million miles per month with Super Cruise.
The subsidiary Cruise will be combined with GM technical teams into a single effort autonomous and assisted driving. GM said robotaxi development will not be funded after seeing it would require considerably more time and resources needed to scale the business.
GM said it will raise its ownership in Cruise to 97%, up from 90%, as it will acquire shares from other shareholders. It will also pursue the acquisition of the remaining shares.
When those shares are complete, GM said it will work to restructure and refocus Cruise’s operations including lowering spending by more than $1 billion annually.
