GM kills Cruise, ends Robotaxi promotion

Cruise to be merged into GM as GM refocuses its self-driving business on personal vehicles

General Motors has high hopes for Cruise and plans to revolutionize transportation with its Origin robotaxis. However, fate intervened after an accident in 2023, when a pedestrian was dragged about 20 feet (6 meters).

The incident sparked an investigation and a major shakeup, culminating in today’s announcement that Cruise – as far as we know – is, in fact, dead. As GM explained, it is refocusing its autonomous driving strategy to prioritize the development of advanced driver assistance systems for personal vehicles.

More: Cruise Cans Origin Robotaxi Project, Will Focus on Next-Generation Chevrolet Bolt

This doomed Cruise’s robotaxi business and its existence as an independent company. In particular, GM plans to merge Cruise with its own team working on self-driving technology. The automaker also made it clear that it will “no longer fund Cruise’s robotaxi development efforts due to the time and resource requirements required to expand the business and the increasing competition in the robotaxi market.”

General Motors only owns about 90% of Cruise, but it has reached an agreement with other shareholders to increase its stake to more than 97%. Their goal is to acquire the remaining shares so that they can effectively eliminate the company and fold the remaining shares into their parent company.

The decision is expected to save the carmaker more than $1bn (£782/€950m) per year and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025.

GM CEO Mary Barra emphasized the financial prudence and strategic clarity of the move, saying the company is “committed to delivering the best driving experience for our customers in a disciplined and capital-efficient manner.” “The deeper integration of our teams, coupled with GM’s strong brand, scale and manufacturing capabilities, will help advance our vision for the future of transportation.”

While Cruise’s robotaxi aspirations are now history, GM believes this focus on ADAS will lead to a more tangible and profitable path forward.