Proactive Investors - Cruise, the driverless cars arm of General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), will recalibrate its strategy by halting production of its Origin robotaxi and focusing on its current Chevrolet Bolt autonomous vehicle platform.
This change comes in the wake of recent challenges and safety concerns, which led to last week's pause on all on-road vehicle operations in the US.
The shift in strategy was detailed in an internal email from Mo Elshenawy, newly appointed president of Cruise following the resignation of co-founders Kyle Vogt and Daniel Kan.
Elshenawy's email outlined a more "realistic" approach, prioritizing the Chevy Bolt AV over the custom-built Origin shuttle, whose production GM recently paused.
The Origin vehicle will now not enter production in 2024.
Additionally, Cruise plans to initially relaunch operations in just one city, marking a significant departure from its previous multi-city launch ambitions.
A Cruise spokesperson told media: "As we work to rebuild trust with regulators and communities, we’ve made the decision to focus on the Bolt-based Cruise AVs in the near term with a longer term strategy around the Origin.
"Once we have taken steps to improve our safety culture and rebuild trust, our strategy is to re-launch in one city and prove our performance there, before expanding.”
This strategy adjustment aligns with Cruise's efforts to rebuild trust with regulators and communities, particularly after the California Department of Motor Vehicles suspended its permits following an incident involving a Cruise robotaxi and a pedestrian in early October.
The company also intends to review its layoff plans, with updates expected in the coming weeks.