GM says it has built 130 self-driving Chevrolet Bolts

DETROIT — General Motors announced Tuesday it has finished making 130 autonomous Chevrolet Bolt test vehicles at its plant in Lake Orion, Mich., an achievement the automaker says will help put it at the forefront of the race to develop and deploy self-driving cars.

CEO Mary Barra, speaking to several hundred employees gathered at the plant, said GM is the only automaker capable of building a high volume of autonomous vehicles.

“The autonomous vehicles you see here today are purpose-built, self-driving test vehicles,” Barra said. “The level of integration in these vehicles is on par with any of our production vehicles, and that is a great advantage. In fact, no other company today has the unique and necessary combination of technology, engineering and manufacturing ability to build autonomous vehicles at scale.”

The version of the Chevrolet Bolt autonomous vehicles unveiled Tuesday are equipped with the latest array of equipment, including LIDAR, cameras, radar, sensors and other hardware designed and built by GM and its suppliers. The cars must be driven with a person behind the wheel who is alert and ready to take control if necessary.

The automaker had already built about 50 autonomous Chevrolet Bolts retrofitted with the specialized sensors needed to drive themselves, meaning the automaker now has 180 such vehicles it can test and refine.

GM began testing the first generation of its Chevrolet Bolt last June in Detroit, Scottsdale, Ariz., and San Francisco. Barra said testing of the new version of the self-driving Bolts will begin soon.