The company suspended the Cruise self-driving taxi service late last year after a vehicle struck and seriously injured a pedestrian.
General Motors is ending its investment in Cruise, the company’s self-driving taxi division.
According to a Smart Cities Dive article by Dan Zukowski, GM cited the high cost of operating the service as a major reason for shutting it down. GM CEO Mary Barra said launching and operating a robotaxi business would cost significantly more than the $10 billion the company has already invested and that “A robotaxi business is not General Motors’ core business.”
The troubled robotaxi service was under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and had its operating permit revoked in California after a vehicle struck and dragged a pedestrian, seriously injuring them. The company suspended operations shortly after the incident.
The Alphabet-owned Waymo autonomous taxi service is still operating in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, in spite of concerns from city leaders. For its part, “GM plans to leverage Cruise’s expertise in autonomous technology to further develop its driver-assistance software, called Super Cruise, available on some General Motors vehicles.”
FULL STORY: GM shuts troubled Cruise robotaxi unit
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