General Motors' Cruise to Relaunch Driverless Service Despite Setbacks

TapTechNews July 29th news, according to Bloomberg, the self-driving division of General Motors, Cruise, plans to relaunch its driverless ride-hailing service this year. Previously, one of the company's self-driving taxis hit a pedestrian last October and was forced to suspend operations.

Insiders revealed that Cruise hopes to start providing driverless services this year and reintroduce paid driverless services in early 2025. Previously, due to a vehicle of the company hitting and pinning a pedestrian who had been knocked down by another vehicle in October last year, Cruise lost its license to operate driverless services.

TapTechNews noted that since the accident, Cruise has been facing investigations and hearings from regulatory agencies, while also striving to regain trust and restart the driverless business. In addition, General Motors is also seeking other investors to fund the Cruise project, after the company previously said it would cut the spending of the self-driving division by half.

In the second quarter, Cruise lost about 1.2 billion US dollars, and as it has not yet charged passengers, the company still has no income. In May this year, Cruise began conducting manned driving tests on vehicles in Phoenix, and then conducted tests in Dallas and Houston.

General Motors CEO Mary Barra wrote in a letter to shareholders in April this year: At Cruise, we are committed to regaining the trust of regulatory agencies and the public through our commitments and actions.

In February this year, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) held a hearing, and last month, the agency ordered Cruise to pay the maximum fine for the delay in reporting certain details of the October accident last year.

Recently, General Motors announced that it will officially stop producing the Origin driverless car, citing regulatory issues with the vehicle lacking a steering wheel. Previously, the company had announced a delay of the model. Instead, General Motors said it will focus on autonomous driving on the next-generation Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle, which will be produced at the company's Kansas City assembly plant.