Toronto, Ontario — General Motors CEO Mary Barra says she expects the automaker to offer self-driving vehicles in the next 10 years.
“Later in the decade, I believe, and there’s a lot to still unfold, but I believe we’ll have personal autonomous vehicles,” she told investors Wednesday during the company’s first-quarter earnings call.
Barra did not specifically say GM would sell such vehicles directly to consumers.
Super Cruise is the first step to creating fully autonomous vehicles, as the automaker plans to expand this advanced driver-assist system to 22 vehicles by 2023. The goal for Super Cruise is to offer hands-free driving in 95 percent of driving conditions in the next decade, says Barra.
Currently, Super Cruise allows for autonomous driving on more than 200, 000 miles of pre-mapped highways in North America.
The difference between Super Cruise and fully autonomous driving is GM’s system has a driver-facing infrared camera to monitor attentives and the pre-mapped roads that use sensors and cameras to drive the vehicle.
“Imagine a world with no car crashes. Our self-driving vehicles aim to eliminate human driver error — the primary cause of 94 percent of crashes — leading to fewer injuries and fatalities. Imagine widespread use of electric-only vehicles, reducing vehicle emissions. Our self-driving vehicles will all be electric, contributing to a better environment,” reads a document on the GM’s website.
