General Motors targets 2019 for U.S. launch of self-driving vehicles
General Motors Co. is hoping to be a leader in the race to bring autonomous vehicles to the road, unveiling plans to bring a self-driving, ride-sharing fleet to big U.S. cities in 2019.
GM executives spelled out their vision for an autonomous future at an investor event in San Francisco Thursday, which includes the commercial launch of zero-emission, driverless cars in “dense urban environments” in two years time. GM did not indicate whether the self-driving vehicles would be used in a ride-sharing service it runs, or whether it would partner with an existing company such as Lyft, which it has invested $500 million in.
“Everything we’re doing right now is focused on getting this technology deployed safely, at scale, and in the most complex environments as soon as humanly possible,” GM president Dan Ammann told investors. “We believe this technology will have a profound impact on the world.”
The move is part of GM’s rampedup focus on electric and autonomous vehicles. In October, the company announced plans to launch 20 all-electric vehicles by 2023.
Chief executive Mary Barra told investors the company is well-positioned for the transformation happening in the auto-industry, including an increased investment in electrification and automation of vehicles.
“We’re committed to a future where we have zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion,” Barra said. “We have set our sights and we feel it is our responsibility to create a world where we are addressing the challenges that have come from the benefits of mobility.”
GM’s aggressive push into selfdriving cars, electric drive and ride-sharing has been a key reason why the stock has soared in recent months. GM shares rose 26 per cent this year through Wednesday’s close, compared with a four-per-cent gain for crosstown rival Ford Motor Co. The stock slipped 1.6 per cent to US$43.09 on Thursday in New York.
The automaker sees the launch of autonomous vehicles in the ridesharing market as a lucrative opportunity. Ride-sharing costs consumers between US$2 and US$3 per mile, Ammann said, and represents a tiny slice — about 0.1 per cent — of total miles driven in the U.S. Amman said an autonomous vehicle ride-sharing service could drive the consumer cost down to around US$1 per mile, which could increase the total of miles driven using ride-sharing services.
According to GM, if ride-sharing miles increase to 20 per cent of total miles driven, it could represent a US$750-billion market. A jump to 75 per cent of all rides in the U.S. could represent a US$1.6-trillion ride-sharing market.
“The point here is you don’t really get to unlock a huge part of the cost curve until you get this cost down approaching US$1 per mile,” Ammann said. “The good news is we see a pretty clear path to how we can do that.”
GM’s autonomous strategy comes after the company made several major investments and acquisitions in the rapidly development field. Last year, the company acquired Cruise Automation, a San-Fransisco self-driving vehicle startup, to be part of its autonomous vehicle development unit.
In October, the automaker announced it acquired LIDAR company Strobe Inc., a move it says will help reduce the cost of the light sensors used in self-driving technology by nearly 100 per cent. Current LIDAR technology costs around US$20,000.