GM to Refocus Autonomous Driving Efforts on Personal Vehicles, Ends Funding for Cruise Robotaxis

General Motors (GM) has announced a significant shift in its autonomous driving strategy, opting to refocus its efforts on developing advanced driver assistance systems for personal vehicles rather than pursuing robotaxi services. This decision involves ceasing funding for Cruise LLC’s robotaxi development, a unit in which GM holds approximately 90% ownership and plans to increase to over 97% through share repurchases.

The company will build on the success of its Super Cruise feature, a hands-off, eyes-on driving system currently available in more than 20 GM vehicle models and logging over 10 million miles per month. GM’s decision to retreat from the robotaxi market is driven by the substantial time and resources required to scale the business, as well as the increasing competitiveness in the robotaxi sector.

GM intends to integrate the technical teams of Cruise LLC with its own to advance autonomous and assisted driving technologies. This integration is part of GM’s broader strategy to deliver the best driving experiences to its customers in a disciplined and capital-efficient manner. According to Mary Barra, GM’s chair and CEO, “Cruise has been an early innovator in autonomy, and the deeper integration of our teams, paired with GM’s strong brands, scale, and manufacturing strength, will help advance our vision for the future of transportation”.

The restructuring plan is expected to reduce GM’s spending by more than $1 billion annually once completed, anticipated in the first half of 2025. GM will host a conference call for analysts to discuss the details of this strategic shift.

This move aligns with GM’s overall goal of leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower-emission vehicles, as the company transitions towards an all-electric future. The decision reflects GM’s commitment to delivering innovative driving experiences while managing resources efficiently in a highly competitive automotive market.