Amid troubles, GM's Cruise to focus driverless taxis in one city

General Motors Co.'s autonomous vehicle unit, Cruise LLC, is making some strategy changes amid external and internal reviews of its operations following an October pedestrian accident that led to government and investor scrutiny of the company.

In a statement Wednesday, a Cruise spokesperson confirmed that when the self-driving unit will be focused on one city when it relaunches driverless taxi service. The company will focus in the near term on using the self-driving, electric Chevrolet Bolts instead of the Detroit-made Cruise Origin self-driving robotaxi.

“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," the Cruise spokesperson said in a statement. “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.”

More:Cruise woes claim CEO, drive shakeup, but GM still believes in self-driving technology

The Wall Street Journal first reported the strategy changes Wednesday after it obtained a copy of an email sent to employees that detailed the changes. Earlier this week, amid the safety issues at Cruise, CEO Kyle Vogt and Daniel Kan, Cruise co-founder and chief product officer, both resigned.

Mo Elshenawy, executive vice president of engineering at Cruise, is now serving as president and chief technology officer for Cruise. Craig Glidden, GM's executive vice president for legal, global public policy and cybersecurity and strategic technology initiatives, will serve as president and continue as chief administrative officer for Cruise.

Cruise's scrutiny began in earnest on Oct. 2 when a Cruise vehicle hit a pedestrian after the person was hit by another car driven by a human while crossing the street and thrown into the pathway of the Cruise AV. The pedestrian was pinned under a tire on the Cruise vehicle and was pulled for about 20 feet as the car attempted to move off the road, AP reported.

Later that month, the California Department of Motor Vehicles suspended Cruise's deployment and driverless testing permit after determining "the manufacturer’s vehicles are not safe for the public’s operation" and the manufacturer "misrepresented any information related to safety of the autonomous technology of its vehicles."

In the last year, after growing in San Francisco, Cruise launched driverless ride-hailing service in Austin, Houston and Phoenix. Cruise also operated employee, friends and family services in Dallas and recently opened that up in Miami.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Office of Defects Investigation opened a case on Cruise in mid-October. That case remains open. 

Cruise has suspended all of its driverless rides and in November recalled 950 of its cars to update software on them. Cruise is now working to regain trust of the public and regulatory agencies. It has launched a search for chief safety officer and retained a law firm to examine company's response to the Oct. 2 crash. 

khall@detroitnews.com

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