General Motors (GM.N) announced on Monday that it intends to temporarily stop the production of its fully autonomous Cruise Origin van, shortly after the unit decided to pause all driverless operations. Forbes first reported this development, referring to an audio recording of Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt’s address during an all-hands meeting.
According to Forbes, Vogt informed the staff in the meeting that the company has already manufactured hundreds of Origin vehicles, which should be sufficient for the near term until they resume production.
A GM spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that they are completing production on a small number of pre-commercial vehicles and plan to halt production temporarily. The spokesperson emphasized the belief that autonomous vehicles will revolutionize transportation and that the Origin plays a crucial role in this journey.
Cruise, General Motors’ autonomous vehicle division, had previously announced a nationwide operational pause after California regulators revoked the robotaxi operator’s license due to safety concerns.
In February 2022, Cruise sought permission from U.S. regulators to deploy up to 2,500 self-driving Origin vehicles annually without manual controls like steering wheels. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had initially expected to make a decision on this petition in a matter of weeks but recently launched a new investigation into Cruise’s safety measures for pedestrians.
The Cruise Origin vehicle, manufactured in Detroit, was a collaborative effort between GM, Cruise, and Honda.
Cruise’s board has engaged the services of the law firm Quinn Emanuel to assess Cruise management’s responses to regulators in light of an October 2 accident. They have also enlisted technology consultancy Exponent to review Cruise’s technology.