Skip to main content

GM and Lyft will test self-driving cabs on the road within a year

GM and Lyft will test self-driving cabs on the road within a year

Share this story

GM

GM and Lyft plan to begin putting self-driving cabs to the test sometime within the next year. According to The Wall Street Journal, the companies intend to put Chevrolet Bolts on the road in a yet-to-be-named city, where they'll actually be picking up Lyft passengers.

The plan relies on GM's recent acquisition of Cruise Automation, a three-year-old autonomous car startup it purchased in March. "We will want to vet the autonomous tech between Cruise, GM, and ourselves and slowly introduce this into markets," Lyft product director Taggart Matthiesen tells the Journal.

Jumping in early to what'll become an enormous market

Beyond that, there aren't any other details on what Lyft and GM are planning — apparently decisions are still being made. But the intention of this plan is clear: both companies are moving aggressively to get a place in what's likely to be an enormous market of self-driving cabs. Lyft has to contend with Uber, which is building its own autonomous vehicles, and GM has to compete with other forward-thinking car companies, like Ford, and newcomers, like Alphabet's X, all trying to respond to growing demand for alternative forms of transportation.

GM and Lyft began partnering on self-driving cars in January, when it was announced that GM would invest $500 million in the ride-hailing company.

In addition to rolling out self-driving Bolts, GM also intends to begin renting out standard versions of the car to Lyft drivers, according to the Journal. GM and Lyft have already partnered to rent out the Chevy Equinox, but the program is now due to expand using the Bolt, which has more room for passengers.