- Germany backs off their robotaxi plans
- The accident threw Cruise off-track
- Google sister Waymo is leading the way
Germany backs off their robotaxi plans
General Motors (GM) has decided to abandon its ambitious self-driving robotaxi project after investing billions. Instead, it will focus on developing driver assistance systems that will gradually enable autonomous driving in private cars.
The US auto giant announced on Tuesday that the shift is expected to save the company $1 billion annually.
GM has long worked with its subsidiary, Cruise, to establish a driverless taxi service. The project, which cost nearly $10 billion, included plans to expand from US cities to Tokyo, with Cruise already testing cars without steering wheels or pedals.
The accident threw Cruise off-track
However, the project encountered a major setback in late in 2023 after an accident in San Francisco, when a woman was hit by a human-driven vehicle and thrown in front of a Cruise robotaxi.
The autonomous vehicle failed to detect the woman and did not stop, dragging her six meters before stopping.
Cruise initially downplayed the incident, leading to San Francisco yanking its operating license and removing its vehicles from service. That resulted in a leadership shake-up
Cruise resumed test drives only recently. Now, GM acknowledges that expanding its robotaxi business will require considerable time and resources, especially in a highly competitive market.
Google sister Waymo is leading the way
Google sister company Waymo currently leads the robotaxi industry, operating in several US cities with more than 150,000 weekly passenger trips. The two are both owned by Alphabet.
Amazon's Zoox is preparing to launch its own services in cities like Las Vegas and San Francisco. After years of development and billion-dollar costs, Apple halted its self-driving car program in February.
Based on DPA reports
