Cruise starts pre-production of its autonomous shuttle thanks to $5 billion from GM
1Reported today on The Verge
For the full article visit: https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/15/22534945/gm-credit-cruise-autonomous-vehicle-origin-production
Reported today in The Verge.
Cruise starts pre-production of its autonomous shuttle thanks to $5 billion from GM
Cruise is getting a $5 billion line of credit from General Motors' financial division as it begins pre-production on its Origin autonomous shuttle. It's another big infusion of cash for Cruise, arguably one of the better capitalized autonomous vehicle companies in the world.
Cruise CEO Dan Ammann said the new financing "bumps up Cruise's total war chest to over $10 billion as we enter commercialization." This will help the company as its fully autonomous shuttles enter series production at the GM Detroit-Hamtramck Plant (rebranded as Factory Zero) sometime in 2022.
Ammann writes in a blog post, "$10 billion. It's a big number." "However, when you think about what we're building - safer, cleaner, and more accessible transportation for the world - you quickly realize it's also a necessary number."
It's a lot of money to spend on a vehicle powered by an autonomous driving technology that still is in the testing phase. Cruise hasn't launched its ride-hail service yet, nor has it revealed an actual working version of the Origin. The company has a beta ride-hailing service, but it's only available to employees, and Cruise won't say when it will be available to the broader public.
Cruise had planned to roll out a commercial service in San Francisco in 2019, but ultimately postponed those plans and has yet to announce a new date. Cruise is under pressure from its investors, namely SoftBank, to launch a commercial robotaxi service. The company recently received a permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles to test fully driverless cars without human safety drivers in San Francisco. And it announced plans to begin testing its Origin vehicles in Dubai s