Company pushes driverless cars

General Motors (GM) is financing a push into autonomous cars and ride-sharing services by slashing US$5.5 billion in manufacturing, purchasing and admin costs over the next three years. The cuts will go towards increased investments in brand development and new technology.   Along with testing a fleet of self-driving Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrids, GM has announced two car and ride-sharing services with the Volts able to be summoned by employees through a smartphone app. GM currently has a car-sharing programme allowing residents in a luxury New York City apartment building “to reserve SUVs and park them in any of 200 garages in Manhattan”. It plans to launch a car-sharing service in another US city early in 2016. Mary Barra, chief executive officer, says company plans to “disrupt the auto industry in new forms of mobility”. President Dan Ammann adds personal car ownership will remain for “quite some time”, but once that model changed “we’re there every step of the way”. GM says it has already developed enabling technology, such as better sensors to handle heavy fog or icy roads, artificial intelligence that predicts driver behaviour and prepares for real-world problems, and precision mapping. The company’s foray into autonomous vehicles is intended to match Google’s fleet of 48 self-driving cars. Apple and Uber are also looking to develop autonomous cars.