Post by account_disabled on Mar 6, 2024 5:29:04 GMT
The future of the automotive industry is not power or style, when it comes to autonomous vehicles and ride-sharing services.
The latest evidence of this came Tuesday Chile Mobile Number List night with Cruise, a majority-owned subsidiary of General Motors, unveiling its first vehicle designed specifically to operate without a driver. The all-electric vehicle, which Cruise calls Origin, looks similar to autonomous shuttles previously introduced or tested by other companies, but does not feature any manual controls that would allow a human to take control in an emergency, such as pedals or a steering wheel.
Jessica Caldwell, executive director of industry analysis at Edmunds
It's really promising. I don't think anyone can argue with the premise... it's no different than things we've seen at CES in the past.
The shuttle vehicle has doors on both sides that open from the center rather than opening on hinges, and the vehicle's seats face inward to provide at least as much legroom as extra legroom on an airplane. , Kyle Vogt, Cruise's co-Founder, president and chief technology officer, said during the presentation in San Francisco.
The Origin offers wireless Internet chargers and devices that passengers can use while traveling, as well as three interior cameras that monitor the safety of people and their cargo on board. The rideshare should be quiet, as Cruise Origin is also an all-electric vehicle.
Cruise's vice president of hardware engineering, Carl Jenkins, told CNBC on Tuesday night that the Origin had to be electric, not only for environmental but also budgetary reasons.
When you own an entire fleet of vehicles, you want your operating costs to be as low as possible. Electric vehicles have a much lower operating cost, because there are many fewer parts and fewer moving parts
Sam Abuelsamid, Navigant principal research analyst and engineer, said he expects more companies like Ford Motor and others to unveil similar vehicles in the coming months and years because they meet the needs of ride-hailing services and commercial delivery services.
This is exactly the type of vehicle you need for shared mobility services.
Other companies such as Fiat Chrysler, Toyota Motor and autonomous transportation services such as May Mobility, Local Motors and Navya have previously shown concept vehicles or deployed similar-looking vehicles.
These types of vehicles are separate from semi-autonomous driver-assist technologies, such as Tesla's Autopilot or GM's Super Cruise, which are designed for consumer vehicles. Such ferries are expected to be used for ride-sharing where regulators allow it.
Cruise was also working on a cargo-hauling version of the Origin, something more like a van than a ferry, Cruise CEO Dan Ammann said at the San Francisco event. Regarding common designs, Abuelsamid said:
There is a lot you can do for a box on wheels.
However, the key difference for Origin compared to similar vehicles from other companies lies beneath its boxy exterior, according to Abuelsamid.
1 million miles
Cruise officials described Origin as modular and designed to last 1 million miles of driving. That compares to some vehicles, including those from GM, that only offer warranties for tens of thousands of miles and last hundreds of thousands if properly maintained.
It is autonomous. Everything is electric. It is shared. It is a production vehicle.
That's what Ammann, who previously served as president of GM, said during the presentation.
Unlike some similar concept vehicles, Cruise highlighted that the Origin is ready for production. Details on a manufacturing location are expected in the coming days, according to Ammann.
The vehicle's modular architecture will also allow for easy changes to the vehicle's interior and the addition of new technologies such as sensors and radars, company officials said. Abuelsamid compared the vehicle to the way the aerospace industry designs airplanes.
The airframes are designed to last 20, 25 or 30 years, but every two, three or four years they undergo a major overhaul... and renew a major part of the aircraft while maintaining the main structure of the aircraft
A major difference in the vehicle's design is that it was built to be an autonomous vehicle. Many other transportation services, such as May Mobility, use an existing all-electric vehicle architecture that is not as modular or designed to operate for long periods.
Origin, according to Credit Suisse analyst Dan Levy, is proof that Cruise continues
Extremely committed to achieving a first-mover advantage in autonomous ride-sharing… Origin's presentation reminded us that there is much more to achieving AV commercialization than simply getting the driver out, and the core thing is achieving automotive/car-grade integration.
Obstacles, questions remain
Cruise was light on details about the capabilities, schedule and production of the Origin, which it says will be built for about half the cost of what a conventional electric SUV costs today. The vehicle seats six adults and has a wheelbase about the same size as a Honda CRV.
Ammann said a production site will be launched in the coming days. In a Medium post, he also claimed that Cruise's service will save, on average, a San Francisco household by driving themselves or using ride-sharing up to $5,000 a year.
