Will GM’s Cruise Ever Bounce Back After Halting Its Robotaxi Production?

Isn’t it fun being out on an open road or highway and shifting your car into cruise-control mode and enjoying the ride, right?

However, Cruise is facing a “control issue” that’s not letting it enjoy the ride!

We’re talking about the autonomous vehicle manufacturer owned by General Motors (GM) that produces self-driving robotaxis under the name "Cruise.”

In the few last months, we reported an accident that included a pedestrian and a Cruise vehicle. (read more). This was followed by a report which saw the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) suspend Cruise’s deployment and testing permits. Soon after, Cruise halted its robotaxi services, suspending all driverless operations. (read more)

Now, there’s a new update that’s taking the driverless vehicle maker down a rough patch of the road. (pun intended!)

So, what’s the low-down on its latest move? Let’s explore!

What’s The New Roadblock On Cruise’s Path?

General Motors plans to halt production of its fully autonomous van, Cruise Origin, according to a report that refers to an audio recording of Cruise’s CEO, Kyle Vogt, speaking in an internal, all-hands meeting.

The halt in production is believed to be a temporary one.

Cruise’s Origin autonomous vehicle is developed by Cruise, General Motors (its parent company) and Honda.

In the meeting, Vogt said, “Because a lot of this is in flux, we did make the decision with GM to pause production of the Origin.”

Vogt even mentioned that Cruise has already produced hundreds of Origin vehicles, which would be, “more than enough for the near-term when we are ready to ramp things back up.”

What Did GM have to say about the move?

Speaking on the matter, a spokesperson for GM said, “We are finishing production on a small number of pre-commercial vehicles and after that, plan to temporarily pause production.”

[Contd.] “More broadly speaking, we believe autonomous vehicles will transform the way people move around the world, and the Origin is an important part of the AV journey – it's the first scalable vehicle ever designed specifically for autonomous rides and will make transportation more accessible."

TechDogs-"An Image Of The Cruise Origin Van"

Source

What Other Barriers Are Slowing Cruise Down?

Cruise filed a report with the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) on November 7, in which it stated that it found defects in its automated driving system software, particularly pertaining to its “Collision Detection Subsystem.”

Furthermore, following the recent incidents involving Cruise’s self-driving cars, the company has issued a recall of 950 of its robotaxis.

Additionally, Cruise has not had the best time financially, as GM reported a $1.9 billion loss accruing from Cruise, with $732 million in 2023’s third quarter itself. It’s believed that the financial woes have been on throughout the company’s history.

Add these to the halt in production and driverless taxi services it looks like it’s going to be a rough ride for Cruise.

While the updates on Cruise vehicles aren’t favorable for its position in the market, its rival, Waymo (owned by Alphabet) continues driving on with its driverless operations.

Do you think Cruise will lose ground in the autonomous vehicle race? Can Cruise cruise back to the top of its game soon?

Let us know in the comments below!

First published on Thu, Nov 9, 2023

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