General Motors (GM) has announced a strategic shift, discontinuing its pursuit of autonomous taxi fleets and refocusing on driver-assistance technologies that necessitate human intervention. The company cited the extensive time and resources required to scale the autonomous taxi business, along with an increasingly competitive market, as the primary reasons for this decision. In a statement, GM highlighted the challenges of scaling the business and the growing competition in the autonomous taxi sector.

The Detroit-headquartered automaker's autonomous taxi initiatives were managed by Cruise, a company in which GM holds a 90% stake. Many employees from Cruise, who have been engaged in the development of self-driving technology, will now be reassigned to GM to contribute to the enhancement of driver-assist features for personal vehicles. These features include Super Cruise, a hands-off, eyes-on driving assistance system currently available in over 20 GM models. This realignment is expected to result in annual cost savings of $1 billion for GM once the transition is complete.

GM's new focus will be on driver-assistance features rather than fully autonomous vehicles. The company estimates that the development of a fleet of autonomous taxis would have required an investment exceeding $10 billion. In the competitive landscape, GM is up against Google's Waymo, which is partnered with Uber, as well as ride-hailing and taxi services that rely on human drivers. Additionally, Tesla has recently unveiled plans for new fully autonomous vehicles without traditional controls and a robotaxi service that would enable Tesla owners to lease their vehicles to the service when not in use.

GM's CEO, Mary Barra, informed investors that the company concluded that a robotaxi service was not central to its core operations. She emphasized that redirecting efforts from autonomous technology to driver-assist features would better serve the products offered to consumers. Cruise has faced scrutiny in recent years, particularly following an incident in October 2023 where its autonomous taxis in San Francisco struck a pedestrian, dragging her along the road for approximately 20 feet. This led to California authorities ordering a halt to Cruise's operations in the state, prompting GM to suspend the service across the country.

Last month, Cruise settled a $500,000 fine as part of a deferred prosecution agreement to resolve potential federal criminal charges related to providing false records to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning the aforementioned accident. The incident occurred after the pedestrian had been hit by another vehicle with a human driver.

GM and other proponents of autonomous vehicles maintain that self-driving cars have the potential to be safer than those operated by humans. GM has even set ambitious goals for electrification and autonomous technology, aiming to produce vehicles with "zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion." While the decision to cease funding for autonomous taxis represents a step back from this objective, it does not signify a complete withdrawal from the development of fully autonomous vehicles, according to Barra.

"Cruise has been a pioneer in the field of autonomy," Barra stated. "By integrating Cruise's efforts in self-driving technology with GM's initiatives to assist drivers, we will be better positioned to advance our vision for the future of transportation." Dave Richardson, GM's Senior Vice President of Software and Services Engineering, echoed this sentiment, stating, "We are fully committed to autonomous driving and are eager to deliver its benefits to GM customers, including enhanced safety, improved traffic flow, increased accessibility, and reduced driver stress."