GM is giving up on its Cruise robotaxi subsidiary. The company announced today that it will fold Cruise into its own in-house technical team. Under the new strategy, this single unit will focus for now on developing advanced driver assistance programs, and in the future on fully autonomous personal vehicles.
GM acquired Cruise in 2016. However, the robotaxi brand faced intense scrutiny last year after a pedestrian in San Francisco was struck and dragged by one of its driverless cars. The ensuing investigations saw Cruise stop all operations for driverless vehicles and for its manned robotaxi service, and several of the company's leaders resigned or were let go in the aftermath. In recent months, Cruise had resumed some limited activity, but the hit to public trust and safety after the pedestrian incident seem to have created an insurmountable hurdle for GM.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/gm-ends-support-for-cruise-robotaxis-222300134.html?src=rss