Driverless electric prototype unveiled by GM’s Cruise unit

A new electric prototype vehicle named “Cruise Origin” was unveiled by the General Motors Co.’s self-driving car unit Cruise on Tuesday. It has no steering wheels or pedals and it is designed to be used for the autonomous ride-sharing service. The vehicle – developed in partnership with Honda Motor Co. Ltd. in exchange for a minority stake in Cruise – is about the size of a large SUV with sliding doors on each side. It will be competing with Lyft Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc.in the ride-sharing segment.

Cruise’s Chief Executive Officer, Dan Ammann, said that “We’re obviously still working on something that’s never been done before. So the time lines given aren’t completely certain, but we’re moving really quickly”. Further, he added that Cruise could be using its 180 test cars which are already operating in the city to start a commercial ride-sharing service before the driverless prototype vehicle is ready. Currently, the self-driving cars have safety drivers behind the wheel.

This technology – Self-driving vehicles – is yet to gain widespread consumer acceptance considering the recent road accidents involving such vehicles. The company is still talking to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for a waiver to deploy vehicles without human controls on the roads. Presently, Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo is the only company that has received permission to test without a driver. Meanwhile, Cruise Origin will be tested at private facilities this year.

Cruise is not the only company to propose using vehicles without human controls, and companies such as Navya and May Mobility have developed such vehicles for ride sharing. The official launch date of “Cruise Origin” is yet to be announced.