Uber Technologies UBER 0.00%↑ and General Motors’ GM 0.00%↑ Cruise late last week announced a multiyear partnership that will bring robotaxis to the rideshare platform. The companies, which plan to launch the partnership next year, will offer a number of Chevy Bolt-based autonomous vehicles to prospective riders.
Riders will have the option to get a car with a driver or an autonomous vehicle when they request an Uber ride.
“As the largest mobility and delivery platform, we believe Uber can play an important role in helping to safely and reliably introduce autonomous technology to consumers and cities around the world,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber CEO, in a statement.
Uber, which has operated driverless cars with Waymo in Phoenix since last year, sold its robotaxi division in 2020. To save money and concentrate on its core ridesharing business, Uber sold its own robotaxi division in 2020.
For its part, Cruise is trying to get back after an accident in San Francisco caused it to stop operations and recall vehicles. Last week the company recalled 1,200 robotaxis because of braking problem. However, it has resumed testing in Phoenix, Houston and Dallas this summer.
Cruise has stiff competition, not only from Chinese companies, but from Waymo, which has nearly 700 driverless cars on the road. In addition, Telsa TSLA 0.00%↑ CEO Elon Musk plans to unveil its own robotaxi in October.
