GM halts robotaxi dreams, shifts focus to profitable staples
Robotaxis are taxis that do not require a driver’s participation—a revolution in transportation and potentially the future of the automotive industry. But are they really? General Motors, which spent CAD 14 billion on developing this technology, has a different opinion.
On December 10th, General Motors officially announced the termination of the Cruise project, which was recently presented as the corporation's absolute priority. It turned out that the business model based on autonomous taxis was causing the company to incur losses. Consequently, the management decided to stop further funding.
Since the project's start in 2016, the American manufacturer invested nearly CAD 14 billion in the project. Now, the Cruise program will be marginalized, becoming part of a group working on driver assistance systems.
The decision is yet another sign of cost-cutting at GM, following moves by the corporation to limit the development of electric vehicles and sell shares in one of its battery factories. The company intends to focus primarily on the most profitable market segments such as gasoline-powered pickups and trucks, according to "Reuters".
