GM’s radical new concept

General Motors, GM, plans to mass-produce autonomous cars that lack traditional elements such as steering wheels and pedals. The car will be the fourth generation of its driverless, all-electric Chevy Bolts, which are currently being tested on public roads in America. The Bolts will primarily be deployed as ride-hailing vehicles in a number of cities. “GM’s integrated development of hardware and software, and testing in one of the most complex environments in the world, allows for the company to safely eliminate the steering wheel, pedals, and manual controls from the new Cruise AV,” the company said in a statement. GM plans for the autonomous cars to be launched in 2019 outmanoeuvring rivals in the increasingly hyper competitive race to build and deploy robot cars.  Ford has said it will build a steering-wheel-and-pedal-less autonomous car by 2021, while Waymo is preparing to launch its first commercial ride-hailing service featuring fully driverless minivans (though still with traditional controls).