GM Takes Radical Action on Automated Driving
The automaker squandered its lead from Super Cruise as it became mesmerised by the magical thinking of Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt and the promise of robotaxis.
Source: Automotive News
Further analysis on the GM/NVIDIA partnership announced last week at GTC25 suggests General Motors has taken radical action to refocus on automated driving, in what could be termed the “post-Vogt” era. GM squandered its lead from Super Cruise as the company became mesmerised by the magical thinking of Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt and the promise of robotaxis. With the delusion ended by the commercial reality of profitable business models demanded by Wall St., the automaker is once more focused on Super Cruise.
Ford Motor Company held about a two-year head start over GM following its earlier shuttering of Argo AI, and GM needed to do something bold to catch up with its Detroit competitor. That might very well have been to pivot from Qualcomm to NVIDIA, and also to bring in an engineering-focused Tier 1 supplier to aid with system development and to speed time-to-market. The working assumption is the Tier 1 chosen by GM is Magna International.
GM was one of the first automakers to adopt Qualcomm for automated driving, moving from Mobileye in Super Cruise Gen. 1 to Snapdragon Ride in Gen. 2. The assumption was Super Cruise Gen. 3 would also be Qualcomm, reaching start of production around 2027, so the apparent sudden pivot to the NVIDIA Thor SoC is a stunning steal for Santa Clara from San Diego.
Like other legacy automakers such as Audi, BMW, Porsche and Stellantis, GM is being thrashed in technology developments by the nimbler and more adventurous Chinese NEV competitors. From here we are likely to see other established OEMs abandon plans to do software-defined vehicle development entirely in-house, and to return to working with established Tier 1 suppliers like Magna to compete effectively with the new Chinese brands. Frankly, the legacy automakers don't have much choice and the move to take SDV development in-house looks hopelessly premature in many cases and driven entirely by hubris. GM seems to have understood this and pivoted, similarly Volkswagen in partnering with Rivian. What will other OEMs do?
This Automotive News article by Pete Bigelow provides details and includes commentary from me on the GM/NVIDIA partnership.
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