G.M. Says Its Driverless Car Could Be in Fleets by Next Year

G.M. Says Its Driverless Car Could Be in Fleets by Next Year
“If government approval is granted, and G. M.
begins providing autonomous taxi service to end users in multiple markets, we’ll officially be living in a world of self-driving cars.”
Approval from the Transportation Department is expected to take several months, and then G. M.
would need local clearance before it could provide rides in Cruise AVs to the public.
That will begin in one city and scale up in that city and move to other cities after that.”
The cars would most likely be used initially in a ride service created by G. M., rather
than in a service run by an established company like Uber or Lyft, Mr. Ammann said.
Mr. Ammann said it was reasonable to assume that mass production of the self-driving model would take place at a factory in Orion Township, Mich.,
that already makes Cruise AV prototypes and the Bolt, though he said there were no firm plans.
Mr. Ammann said it was not clear how the department’s main auto-safety regulator, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, would evaluate G. M.’s petition,
and whether the agency would test the vehicles itself
submitted a petition to the United States Department of Transportation seeking permission to begin operating
fully autonomous cars — without steering wheels or pedals — in a commercial ride-hailing service next year.