GM Abandons Cruise Robotaxi Venture, Shifts Focus to Driver-Assist Technology

GM's Cruise robotaxi business is latest growth initiative to falter

DETROIT -- For years, General Motors CEO and Chair Mary Barra has promised a new future for the company, away from a stodgy metal-bending automaker into a tech-driven, forward-thinking company poised for growth. Part of the plan was for GM's innovation division to identify trillions -- yes, trillions -- of dollars in new market opportunities such as electric commercial vehicles, auto insurance, military defense, autonomous vehicles and even, eventually, the potential for "flying cars," also known as urban air mobility. "We are creating world-class technology solutions and services that will change the way people move, along with new fleet solutions and entirely new business models," Barra said during a virtual CES keynote in January 2022. While GM has declined to disclose how much revenue such businesses have produced, Barra, with the ending of its Cruise robotaxi operations on Tuesday, made it clear that the automaker's growth priorities have shifted amid a broader, industrywide retrench to preserve capital. Companies including GM are now focused on more "core" operations and adjacent business opportunities, including software, EVs and "personal autonomous vehicles." "You've got to really understand the cost of running a robotaxi fleet, which is fairly significant, and, again, not our core business," Barra said during a Tuesday call with Wall Street analysts. The driverless ride-hailing service was supposed to be the shining star of GM's growth opportunities, with executives just a few years ago referring to it as an $8 trillion market opportunity that the automaker would lead. That included former executives touting $50 billion in revenue by the end of this decade, and Cruise being valued at more than $30 billion. Instead, after spending more than $10 billion on Cruise since acquiring it in 2016, GM is ending the robotaxi business and folding Cruise's operations and an undetermined number of its nearly 2,300 employees into the automaker. As part of the wind down, GM is expected to disclose additional expenses from employee separation packages and repurchasing equity investments from outside investors, among other costs, in the next year. GM cited the increasingly competitive robotaxi market, capital allocation priorities, and the considerable time and resources necessary to grow the business as reasons for its decision. The automaker's main competitor was Alphabet-backed Waymo, which is now the last entity with any notable public operations. Others, most notably Tesla, have ambitions for robotaxi businesses, but have failed to commercialize those operations thus far. To GM's credit, Wall Street, which previously pushed for such growth businesses, applauded the decision to end Cruise's robotaxi ambitions. Shares of the company were initially higher, before ending the week level with when the announcement was made. GM, like other companies, has quickly shifted from trying to impress Wall Street with growth initiatives, including generating $280 billion in new businesses by 2030, to refocusing efforts on its core business to generate profits amid economic and recessionary concerns. Analysts largely viewed GM's decision as positive, saving the automaker more than $1 billion in capital annually, which they expect could be used for additional share buybacks, including a target to lower its outstanding shares to under 1 billion. "It has been apparent for some time now that most investors have removed Cruise from their GM valuations, so today's news comes as less of a surprise," Wells Fargo analyst Colin Langan wrote in a Tuesday investor note. GM will combine the majority-owned Cruise LLC with GM technical teams. Barra repeatedly said last week that the automaker is not giving up on vehicle autonomy; it will focus on personal autonomous vehicles instead of robotaxis. But it's hard to ignore that Cruise is GM's latest mobility venture or growth business to fold or not live up to expectations. GM's plans to diversify its business through fashionable industries such as ridesharing and other "mobility" ventures -- a trendy term used previously by the industry for growth initiatives -- or startups have largely fallen flat since the automaker started investing in such growth areas in 2016. The automaker earlier this year folded its BrightDrop EV commercial vans into Chevrolet amid lackluster sales. It's also failed to announce any meaningful plans for fuel cells for tie-ups with boats, trains and airplanes, and it's shuttered several prior "mobility" businesses. Not all of GM's noncore businesses that were launched in recent years have failed. GM Energy and the BrightDrop commercial EV unit continue to operate under the automaker's" Envolve" fleet business. GM's financial arm, meanwhile, continues to operate an insurance business that was launched in late 2020 as part of its growth initiatives with its OnStar telematics and data unit. GM on Friday said the operations are now in 12 states, and remain "well positioned for long-term success." GM also continues to operate a military defense unit and fuel cell business that have both recently announced new contracts or partnerships. That includes hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts for GM Defense. Other than saving capital, GM's silver lining for canceling the Cruise robotaxi business was that it sees more promise in continuing to develop its Super Cruise hands-free advanced driver assistance system. That includes more semi-automated and, eventually, autonomous capabilities. GM was the first automaker to offer such a hands-free system in 2016. However, it was an infamously slow ramp up until recently, when the automaker began rolling it out across its lineup. That started in 2021 and has continued to expand to more than 20 models, including high-volume vehicles such as its full-size pickup trucks and SUVs. "The strategy shift demonstrates that GM continues to believe in the potential of AV technology for personal vehicles. Going forward, GM will focus on improving the capabilities of SuperCruise, which will be further enabled by ongoing technological advancements including in artificial intelligence (AI)," BofA Securities' John Murphy said in a Wednesday investor note. On the other side of the coin, Murphy also points out that the move could imply that other companies such as Waymo and Tesla "have better tech and/or that the market may not be appealing for later entrants." GM wasn't expected to be a "later entrant" in robotaxis. In fact, it was the first to offer such rides to the public, and many believed it was one of the leaders until last year, when the company grounded its driverless operations in October 2023 following a crash involving a pedestrian in San Francisco. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration fined Cruise $1.5 million after the company failed to disclose details of the crash, which included a pedestrian being dragged 20 feet by a Cruise robotaxi after being struck by a separate vehicle. A third-party probe into the incident ordered by GM and Cruise found that culture issues, ineptitude and poor leadership fueled regulatory oversights that led to the accident. The probe also investigated allegations of a cover-up by Cruise leadership but found no evidence to support those claims. The report outlines multiple instances in which then-CEO and co-founder Kyle Vogt, who resigned from the company in November 2023, made the final calls to withhold information, specifically regarding media. Vogt was not enthusiastic about GM's decision to kill the robotaxi operations. He posted on X after the announcement, "In case it was unclear before, it is clear now: GM are a bunch of dummies." Vogt earlier this year pointed out GM's history of having a first-mover advantage with technology, as it did with Cruise and Super Cruise, and squandering it. GM had a similar path with EV tech, like the EV1 -- a battery-electric vehicle produced in the 1990s -- and the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle in the 2010s, which were both abandoned by the company. GM follows several other companies in abandoning robotaxis, including its closest crosstown rival Ford Motor, which shut down its Argo AI autonomous vehicle unit with Volkswagen in 2022. The robotaxi leader in the U.S. remains Waymo, which continues to expand operations for its publicly available fleet in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco, and will soon debut in Miami, Atlanta and Austin, Texas. "In many ways this announcement highlights the economic challenges of scaling a robotaxi network and the role rideshare platforms can play as AVs attempt to commercialize (a bullish indicator), but we think the more tangible impact right now is on the partnership ecosystem given Waymo is already scaling despite the costs and Tesla has ambitions to do so as well," Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska said in an investor note last week.

GM to retreat from robotaxis and stop funding its Cruise autonomous vehicle unit

DETROIT -- General Motors said Tuesday it will retreat from the robotaxi business and stop funding its money-losing Cruise autonomous vehicle unit. Instead, the Detroit automaker will focus on development of partially automated driver-assist systems for personal vehicles like its Super Cruise, which allows drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel. GM said it would get out of robotaxis "given the considerable time and resources that would be needed to scale the business, along with an increasingly competitive robotaxi market." The company said it will combine Cruise's technical team with its own to work on advanced systems to assist drivers. GM bought control of San Francisco-based Cruise automation in 2016 with high hopes of developing a profitable fleet of robotaxis. Over the years GM invested billions in the subsidiary and eventually bought 90% of the company from investors, all while racking up millions in losses. GM's brushoff of Cruise represents a dramatic about-face from years of full-blown support that left a huge financial dent in the automaker. The company invested $2.4 billion in Cruise only to sustain years of uninterrupted losses, with little in return. Since GM bought a controlling stake in Cruise for $581 million in 2016, the robotaxi service piled up more than $10 billion in operating losses while bringing in less than $500 million in revenue, according to GM shareholder reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The automaker even announced plans for Cruise to generate $1 billion in annual revenue by 2025, but it scaled back spending on the company after one of its autonomous Chevrolet Bolts dragged a San Francisco pedestrian who was hit by another vehicle in 2023. The California Public Utilities Commission alleged Cruise then covered up details of the crash for more than two weeks. The embarrassing incident resulted in Cruise's license to operate its driverless fleet in California being suspended by regulators and triggered a purge of its leadership -- in addition to layoffs that jettisoned about a quarter of its workforce. GM CEO Mary Barra told analysts on a conference call Tuesday the the new unit will focus on personal vehicles and developing systems that can drive by themselves in certain circumstances. The company has agreements to buy another 7% of Cruise and intends to buy the remaining shares so it owns the whole company. The move is another step back from autonomous vehicles, which have proved far harder to develop than companies once anticipated. Two years ago, crosstown rival Ford Motor Co. disbanded its Argo AI autonomous vehicle venture in Pittsburgh that it co-owned with Volkswagen. At the time the company said it didn't see a path to profitability for a number of years. Yet other companies are pressing forward with plans to deploy autonomous vehicles and expanding their services. Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo is accelerating plans to broaden its robotaxi service beyond areas of metropolitan Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Last week the company said it would begin testing its driverless Jaguars in Miami next year, with plans to start charging for rides in 2026. The move comes less than a month after Waymo opened up its robotaxi service to anyone looking for a ride in an 80-square-mile (129 square kilometer) area of Los Angeles. Waymo also has plans to launch fleets in Atlanta and Austin next year in partership with ride-hailing leader Uber. In April, a company called Aurora Innovation plans to start hauling freight on Texas freeways using fully driverless semis. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said his company plans to have autonomous Models Y and 3 running without human drivers next year. Robotaxis without steering wheels using Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" system would be available in 2026 starting in California and Texas, he said. But an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into Full Self-Driving's ability to see in low visibility conditions cast doubt on whether Teslas are ready to be deployed without humans behind the wheel. The agency began the investigation in October after getting reports of four crashes involving "Full Self-Driving" when Teslas encountered sun glare, fog and airborne dust. An Arizona pedestrian was killed in one of the crashes. GM said it will work with Cruise's leadership to restructure the company and refocus Cruise's operations on driver assist systems. The company expects the restructuring to reduce spending by more than $1 billion annually. Cruise has about 2,300 employees and will retain a presence in San Francisco, GM said. It's too early to talk about employment levels until the restructuring is completed next year, a spokesman said. Dave Richardson, senior vice president of software and services engineering, said Cruise will bring its software, artificial intelligence and sensor development to GM to team up on improving GM's driver-assist systems. "We want to leverage what already has been done as we go forward, and we think we can do that very effectively," Barra said. Shares of GM rose about 3% in trading after Tuesday's closing bell. They are up about 47% for the year.

GM to retreat from robotaxis and stop funding its Cruise autonomous vehicle unit

General Motors said Tuesday it will retreat from the robotaxi business and stop funding its money-losing Cruise autonomous vehicle unit. Instead the Detroit automaker will focus on development of partially automated driver-assist systems for personal vehicles like its Super Cruise, which allows drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel. GM said it would get out of robotaxis "given the considerable time and resources that would be needed to scale the business, along with an increasingly competitive robotaxi market." The company said it will combine Cruise's technical team with its own to work on advanced systems to assist drivers. GM bought control of San Francisco-based Cruise automation in 2016 with high hopes of developing a profitable fleet of robotaxis. Over the years GM invested billions in the subsidiary and eventually bought 90% of the company from investors, all while racking up millions in losses. GM's brushoff of Cruise represents a dramatic about-face from years of full-blown support that left a huge financial dent in the automaker. The company invested $2.4 billion in Cruise only to sustain years of uninterrupted losses, with little in return. Since GM bought a controlling stake in Cruise for $581 million in 2016, the robotaxi service piled up more than $10 billion in operating losses while bringing in less than $500 million in revenue, according to GM shareholder reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The automaker even announced plans for Cruise to generate $1 billion in annual revenue by 2025, but it scaled back spending on the company after one of its autonomous Chevrolet Bolts dragged a San Francisco pedestrian who was hit by another vehicle in 2023. The California Public Utilities Commission alleged Cruise then covered up details of the crash for more than two weeks. The embarrassing incident resulted in Cruise's license to operate its driverless fleet in California being suspended by regulators and triggered a purge of its leadership -- in addition to layoffs that jettisoned about a quarter of its workforce. GM CEO Mary Barra told analysts on a conference call Tuesday the the new unit will focus on personal vehicles and developing systems that can drive by themselves in certain circumstances. The company has agreements to buy another 7% of Cruise and intends to buy the remaining shares so it owns the whole company. The move is another step back from autonomous vehicles, which have proved far harder to develop than companies once anticipated. Two years ago, crosstown rival Ford Motor Co. disbanded its Argo AI autonomous vehicle venture in Pittsburgh that it co-owned with Volkswagen. At the time the company said it didn't see a path to profitability for a number of years. Yet other companies are pressing forward with plans to deploy autonomous vehicles and expanding their services. Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo is accelerating plans to broaden its robotaxi service beyond areas of metropolitan Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Last week the company said it would begin testing its driverless Jaguars in Miami next year, with plans to start charging for rides in 2026. The move comes less than a month after Waymo opened up its robotaxi service to anyone looking for a ride in an 80-square-mile (129 square kilometer) area of Los Angeles. Waymo also has plans to launch fleets in Atlanta and Austin next year in partership with ride-hailing leader Uber. In April, a company called Aurora Innovation plans to start hauling freight on Texas freeways using fully driverless semis. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said his company plans to have autonomous Models Y and 3 running without human drivers next year. Robotaxis without steering wheels using Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" system would be available in 2026 starting in California and Texas, he said. But an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into Full Self-Driving's ability to see in low visibility conditions cast doubt on whether Teslas are ready to be deployed without humans behind the wheel. The agency began the investigation in October after getting reports of four crashes involving "Full Self-Driving" when Teslas encountered sun glare, fog and airborne dust. An Arizona pedestrian was killed in one of the crashes. GM said it will work with Cruise's leadership to restructure the company and refocus Cruise's operations on driver assist systems. The company expects the restructuring to reduce spending by more than $1 billion annually. Cruise has about 2,300 employees and will retain a presence in San Francisco, GM said. It's too early to talk about employment levels until the restructuring is completed next year, a spokesman said. Dave Richardson, senior vice president of software and services engineering, said Cruise will bring its software, artificial intelligence and sensor development to GM to team up on improving GM's driver-assist systems. "We want to leverage what already has been done as we go forward, and we think we can do that very effectively," Barra said. Shares of GM rose about 3% in trading after Tuesday's closing bell. They are up about 47% for the year. © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

General Motors to retreat from robotaxis and stop funding its Cruise autonomous vehicle unit

General Motors said Tuesday it will retreat from the robotaxi business and stop funding its money-losing Cruise autonomous vehicle unit. Instead the Detroit automaker will focus on development of partially automated driver-assist systems for personal vehicles like its Super Cruise, which allows drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel. GM said it would get out of robotaxis "given the considerable time and resources that would be needed to scale the business, along with an increasingly competitive robotaxi market." The company said it will combine Cruise's technical team with its own to work on advanced systems to assist drivers. GM bought control of San Francisco-based Cruise automation in 2016 with high hopes of developing a profitable fleet of robotaxis. Over the years GM invested billions in the subsidiary and eventually bought 90% of the company from investors, all while racking up millions in losses. GM's brushoff of Cruise represents a dramatic about-face from years of full-blown support that left a huge financial dent in the automaker. The company invested $2.4 billion in Cruise only to sustain years of uninterrupted losses, with little in return. Since GM bought a controlling stake in Cruise for $581 million in 2016, the robotaxi service piled up more than $10 billion in operating losses while bringing in less than $500 million in revenue, according to GM shareholder reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The automaker even announced plans for Cruise to generate $1 billion in annual revenue by 2025, but it scaled back spending on the company after one of its autonomous Chevrolet Bolts dragged a San Francisco pedestrian who was hit by another vehicle in 2023. The California Public Utilities Commission alleged Cruise then covered up details of the crash for more than two weeks. The embarrassing incident resulted in Cruise's license to operate its driverless fleet in California being suspended by regulators and triggered a purge of its leadership - in addition to layoffs that jettisoned about a quarter of its workforce. GM CEO Mary Barra told analysts on a conference call Tuesday the the new unit will focus on personal vehicles and developing systems that can drive by themselves in certain circumstances. The company has agreements to buy another 7% of Cruise and intends to buy the remaining shares so it owns the whole company. The move is another step back from autonomous vehicles, which have proved far harder to develop than companies once anticipated. Two years ago, crosstown rival Ford Motor Co. disbanded its Argo AI autonomous vehicle venture in Pittsburgh that it co-owned with Volkswagen. At the time the company said it didn't see a path to profitability for a number of years. Yet other companies are pressing forward with plans to deploy autonomous vehicles and expanding their services. Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo is accelerating plans to broaden its robotaxi service beyond areas of metropolitan Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Last week the company said it would begin testing its driverless Jaguars in Miami next year, with plans to start charging for rides in 2026. The move comes less than a month after Waymo opened up its robotaxi service to anyone looking for a ride in an 80-square-mile (129 square kilometer) area of Los Angeles. Waymo also has plans to launch fleets in Atlanta and Austin next year in partership with ride-hailing leader Uber. In April, a company called Aurora Innovation plans to start hauling freight on Texas freeways using fully driverless semis. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said his company plans to have autonomous Models Y and 3 running without human drivers next year. Robotaxis without steering wheels using Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" system would be available in 2026 starting in California and Texas, he said. But an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into Full Self-Driving's ability to see in low visibility conditions cast doubt on whether Teslas are ready to be deployed without humans behind the wheel. The agency began the investigation in October after getting reports of four crashes involving "Full Self-Driving" when Teslas encountered sun glare, fog and airborne dust. An Arizona pedestrian was killed in one of the crashes. GM said it will work with Cruise's leadership to restructure the company and refocus Cruise's operations on driver assist systems. The company expects the restructuring to reduce spending by more than $1 billion annually. Cruise has about 2,300 employees and will retain a presence in San Francisco, GM said. It's too early to talk about employment levels until the restructuring is completed next year, a spokesman said. Dave Richardson, senior vice president of software and services engineering, said Cruise will bring its software, artificial intelligence and sensor development to GM to team up on improving GM's driver-assist systems. "We want to leverage what already has been done as we go forward, and we think we can do that very effectively," Barra said. Shares of GM rose about 3% in trading after Tuesday's closing bell. They are up about 47% for the year.

Robotaxi Exit To 'Clear The Way' For GM To License Tesla FSD, Says Gary Black -- Move Will Save The Mary Barra-Led Company $1B A Year - Ford Motor (NYSE:F), General Motors (NYSE:GM)

The Future Fund LLC Managing Partner Gary Black highlighted on Tuesday that General Motors Co. GM is abandoning its robotaxi ambitions to save $1 billion annually, marking a significant shift in the autonomous vehicle race. What Happened: "Cruise and GM's technical teams will be combined into a single effort focused on developing autonomous and advanced driver safety technology for future models sold by GM," Black wrote on X, noting the strategic realignment of GM's autonomous driving efforts. Black, a prominent Tesla Inc. TSLA bull, emphasized GM's decision to exit robotaxi development "given the considerable time and resources that would be needed to scale the business, along with an increasingly competitive robotaxi market." "The move could clear the way for GM to begin licensing TSLA's full-self-driving technology," Black wrote on X. See Also: Jim Cramer: 'I'd Be A Buyer' After Oracle Earnings Dip, But Will 'Take Something Off The Table' On C3.ai Rally Why It Matters: The move comes after Cruise suspended operations following an October incident where one of its vehicles dragged and injured a pedestrian. GM plans to increase its ownership in Cruise from 90% to 97% through shareholder agreements. "GM is committed to delivering the best driving experiences to our customers in a disciplined and capital efficient manner," said GM CEO Mary Barra in a company statement. The automaker will now focus on expanding its Super Cruise driver assistance system, currently available in more than 20 vehicle models. The retreat from robotaxis comes as Alphabet Inc.'s GOOGL GOOG Waymo expands its autonomous taxi service to more cities and Tesla targets a 2026 launch for its robotaxi business. The decision follows industry peers Ford Motor Co. F and Volkswagen AG VWAGY, who shuttered their self-driving venture Argo AI in 2022. Price Action: General Motors' stock closed at $52.74 on Tuesday, up 0.057%. In after-hours trading, the stock rose by 2.20%, to $53.90. Year to date, the stock has gained 46.30%. According to data from Benzinga Pro, General Motors has a consensus price target of $56.10 from 24 analysts, with a high of $96 and a low of $28. The three most recent ratings from Morgan Stanley, Mizuho, and Bernstein suggest an average price target of $57, indicating a potential upside of 5.75%. Read Next: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin Mirror Stock Declines Ahead Of Crucial Inflation Data Release: Top Analyst Says 'Buy The Dip,' Predicts $275K BTC Target Image Via Shutterstock Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs