General Motors (GM) announced that it would temporarily stop production of its fully autonomous Cruise Origin van.
The announcement came shortly after the company said it would pause all autonomous operations. The decision was first reported by Forbes, which cited an audio recording of Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt speaking at an employee meeting. The effects of the Pause of the program has far-reaching consequences.
Vogt informed employees during the meeting that the company has already produced hundreds of Origin vehicles. There are enough vehicles available. A spokesman told Reuters that production of a small number of pre-production vehicles would be completed and then temporarily paused.
The spokesperson emphasized that autonomous driving will change the way people travel around the world, and the Origin is an important part of that autonomous journey. Cruise, the startup for autonomous driving General Motors, announced last month that it would suspend operations nationwide after California regulators suspended the robotaxi operator’s license because self-driving vehicles were deemed a danger to the public.
In February 2022, Cruise petitioned US regulators to deploy up to 2,500 self-driving Origin vehicles annually without human controls. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in July that it expects a decision on the petition in weeks, but opened a new investigation last month to determine whether Cruise is taking sufficient measures to protect foot traffic.
The Cruise Origin vehicle, in Detroit was built jointly by GM, Cruise and Honda developed. Cruise’s board of directors has the Quinn Emanuel Law Firm hired to review management’s response to investigations into an Oct. 2 accident and technology consulting firm Exponent to review Cruise’s technology, the company said Friday.