Welcome to the Future: Can GM Follow Through with Autonomous Vehicles by 2030?

The future is now, and interesting news was revealed by General Motors this morning that autonomous vehicles could take over ride-hailing services by 2030, and even trickle down into production vehicles. It’s been a bumpy ride as we navigate through electrification news and crazy innovations that challenge the status quo, but it’s always interesting to hear about what’s next.

A company like Tesla, who many view as the pioneer and chief innovator when it comes to electric & self-driving cars, has had slight troubles implementing the autonomous portion of their vision, so it’ll be an interesting bit of competition to see which automaker will have the more successful product over the next several years. We have no doubt the technology will improve as we move ahead, but can GM compete with Tesla’s head start? The answer is – why couldn’t they? They’ve always been at the forefront of innovation.

General Motors is seeking to perfect the model of autonomous driving through its Cruise Division, which is currently testing the vehicles on the streets of San Francisco. It consists of various cars without drivers behind the wheel.

As testing continues, General Motors hopes to launch the option soon, with Dubai as one of the first cities to recently sign a deal offering a self-driving taxi service. For now, GM has focused their efforts on its Super Cruise driver-assist system that’s available on the Bolt EUV and Cadillac Escalade. By 2023, GM anticipates the option will be available on 22 of its models. GM CEO Mary Barra is hopeful that by 2030, the full autonomous option will be available on all GM vehicles.

Currently, GM’s Super Cruise technology is capable of driving a vehicle on a pre-mapped highway and change lanes in traffic, only when its operator hits the turn signal. In its current configuration, the driver must keep their eyes on the road and remain alert to take over in case of an emergency. The facial recognition developed by the company will ensure they do.

GM continues to develop new software, and it will be added to the vehicles as they’re tested and approved. According to Barra, “our ultimate vision is that this system enables hands-free transportation in 95 percent of driving scenario.”

We’ve been witness to many changes in the auto market over the years – some better than others, but the prospect of self-driving cars scattered on our roads like Back to the Future is certainly one of the more interesting we’ve seen to date. For some of us, driving is an absolute passion we can’t see ourselves parting from. However, given the option, is there a scenario you’d rely on autonomous technology over manually controlling the vehicle?