General Motors said the company will immediately begin testing self-driving cars on public roads in Michigan. GM executives have said the automaker could eventually deploy self driving electric cars in fleets managed by its ride services partner.
Recognizing General Motors
General Motors Company, commonly known as GM, is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, that designs, manufactures, markets and distributes vehicles and vehicle parts, and sells financial services. The current company, General Motors Company LLC ("new GM"), was formed in 2009 as a part of its 2009 bankruptcy restructuring, after the bankruptcy of General Motors Corporation. The new company purchased the majority of the assets of old GM, including the name "General Motors".
According to Fortune, in 2015, General Motors’ most important goal was to distance itself from the ignition switch recall scandal that cast a pall over the historic brand for much of the previous year. It also had a record sales year to boot, with a total profit of $9.7 billion. For 2016, GM will look to continue staking its claim on a still growing U.S. auto market. The company is also inching towards the release of automated cars, a development that could potentially change the game for GM and the auto industry all together within the next decade.
General Motors Will Expand Public Testing Of Self-Driving Cars
General Motors CEO Mary T. Barra on Thursday said the automaker will immediately begin testing self-driving vehicles on public roads in Michigan just days after Gov. Rick Snyder signed a package of bills legalizing the operation of autonomous vehicles in the hope of restoring the state’s image as an center of automotive innovation.
According to Reuters, Barra used a press conference at the company's Detroit headquarters to show off an electric Chevrolet Bolt equipped with roof-top sensors designed to enable autonomous driving. GM said it will start building a "next generation" of autonomous vehicles at the factory in Orion Township, Michigan north of Detroit early next year. That factory builds Chevrolet Bolts and Chevrolet Sonic subcompact cars.
