Cruise expects GM to begin production of new driverless vehicle in early 2023

Cruise expects GM to begin production of new driverless vehicle in early 2023

Cruise, a majority-owned autonomous vehicle subsidiary of , expects production of its driverless shuttle called the Origin to begin in early 2023. Cruise CEO Dan Ammann disclosed the timing Thursday, giving the most detailed time frame yet for the vehicle as well as potential commercialization of its autonomous vehicle business starting before then. The Origin is the company's first vehicle specifically designed to operate without a driver on board. It does not have manual controls such as pedals or a steering wheel. Cruise's current test fleet is comprised of hundreds of custom equipped with driverless technology. Ammann said that fleet, which it plans to launch operations with, will continue to expand until the Origin goes into production. "That will continue to take shape over the balance of this year and next, but where it really starts to scale up is when the Cruise Origin begins production and goes into high volume," Ammann said. "That's when you'll see things really start to take off." The comments come a day after Cruise and rival Waymo have applied for permits needed to eventually start charging for rides and delivery using autonomous vehicles in San Francisco. Neither company revealed when they intend to launch