GM To Integrate Cruise Technology Into Its Assisted Driving System Upon Completing Acquisition

General Motors Co. GM said on Tuesday that it will integrate the technology of Cruise into its Super Cruise assisted driving system now that it has fully acquired the latter.

What Happened: GM will work on autonomous vehicle technology and advanced driver assistance systems for personal vehicles instead of dedicating its efforts to building robotaxis, the company said in a statement.

Cruise’s technology will be integrated into the Super Cruise assisted driving system. Super Cruise allows drivers to take their hands off the wheels on 750,000 miles on roads across North America and is available on over 20 GM vehicle models. The company will now work on expanding Super Cruise to surface streets in urban environments, it said.

"By combining the specialized technology and talent at Cruise with our team developing Super Cruise, we'll have the ability to accelerate our work on both assisted driving and autonomous driving,” said Dave Richardson, senior vice president of software and services engineering.

GM did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment on the impact of the acquisition on Cruise employees.

Why It Matters: In December, GM said it would no longer fund Cruise‘s robotaxi development but instead combine the unit into its technical teams.

The robotaxi development work needs considerable time and resources to scale, GM reasoned, while adding that the robotaxi market is getting increasingly competitive.

Cruise was a major robotaxi player in the U.S. in the leagues of Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo until Oct. 2023 when a Cruise robotaxi got involved in an accident in San Francisco. The accident led to increased regulatory scrutiny and the company subsequently suspended all of its operations in the U.S.

In July, the company also said it is abandoning its plans to build the Origin autonomous vehicle and focussing on using its next-generation Chevrolet Bolt for autonomous driving operations, citing costs and the “regulatory uncertainty” around the Origin pedal-less vehicle.

Hopes re-emerged briefly when Barra said in October that Cruise is looking to return to operating driverless vehicles by the end of the year but the company eventually ceased operations in December.

Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.

Read Next:

• Tesla Bear Expects EV Giant’s Earnings To Fall Below Bullish Estimates In 2025, Notes Majority Of Company’s Revenues Come From Car Deliveries

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock