GM, Honda Join Forces to Develop AV

Greg Hyde

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3rd October 2018

General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle subsidiary is teaming up with Honda to develop an AV that can be mass-produced and deployed globally.

GM says Honda will contribute manpower as well as $2.75Bn in funding to the project, which the companies claim will develop an AV that is “purpose-built” and able to fulfill multiple “use cases”. If and when an AV is eventually developed, they say it will be launched under Cruise’s brand name, rather than Honda’s. The companies also say they aim to cooperate on investigating “global opportunities for commercial deployment of the Cruise network” under the project’s aegis.

GM CEO Mary Barra characterized the move as “the logical next step in GM and Honda’s relationship, given our joint work on electric vehicles, and our close integration with Cruise”. In a company blog post, Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt claimed the resulting AV would “minimize congestion on crowded city streets”.

Honda chief operating officer Seiji Kuraishi added his company “chose to collaborate with Cruise and GM based on their leadership in autonomous and electric vehicle technology and our shared vision of a zero-emissions and zero-collision world”. He also boasted Honda’s “expertise in space efficiency and design” would allow the project “to develop the most desirable and effective shared autonomous vehicle”.