Governance and government was always going to be the determinant of speed to market for autonomous vehicles (AV).
Dubai leading the way with GM. Contract is the first in the world between a city and an autonomous car manufacturer
For Cruise, the General Motors driverless car unit that was valued at $30bn earlier this year, this marks the first time any entity has made a purchase for the Origin, the all-electric vehicle purpose-built for ride-sharing that it unveiled in early 2020. The Origin has no steering wheel or driver’s seat, can seat up to six passengers and is designed to encourage pooled rides. Mohammed Al Tayer, chair of Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority, said in a press release that Dubai selected Cruise after a “multiyear process” concluded that the GM unit had an advantage over rivals thanks to its ability to build the Origin at scale on standard production lines. “Cruise’s technology, resources, purpose-built vehicle, automaker partnerships, approach to safe testing and deployment, and strategy give them the ability to launch safely and faster than any other company,” Al Tayer said.
Cruise said it would establish a Dubai-based company that would be “fully responsible for the deployment, operation and maintenance of the fleet”. This company will have an exclusive agreement until 2029 to operate driverless ride-hailing services in the city.
https://www.ft.com/content/33f3f86b-2558-4344-98b0-5c3cd529e93f