GM, Lyft join to develop driverless fleet by 2018

General Motors (GM) plans to deploy thousands of self-driving electric cars in test fleets as part of a partnership with ride-sharing affiliate Lyft beginning in 2018.

The joint venture is expected to be the largest test of fully autonomous vehicles (AV) by any major automaker before 2020, according to Reuters.

Most of the specially equipped versions of the Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle will be used by San Francisco-based Lyft, which will test them in its ride-sharing fleet in several states.

However, GM has no immediate plans to sell the Bolt AV to customers. The aim is to mass-produce AVs and deploy them in ride services fleets as a first step.

GM officials have not revealed details of the scale of production, or the timing of the deployment of those vehicles.

News of GM deploying driverless fleets comes just a couple of months after Fiat Chrysler Automobiles revealed it would provide 100 Chrysler Pacifica minivans to Google-owned company, Waymo, which is converting them for self-driving tests.

The vehicles are being outfitted with Waymo’s self-driving technology, including a purpose-built computer and a suite of sensors, telematics and other systems.

GM’s Maven car sharing operation likely will be involved with Lyft in developing a commercial ride sharing business around self-driving vehicles such as the Bolt AV, GM executive Mike Ableson told Reuters.

“If you assume the cost of these autonomous vehicles, the very early ones, will be six figures, there aren’t very many retail customers that are willing to go out and spend that kind of money,” Ableson says.

“But even at that sort of cost, with a ride sharing platform, you can build a business.”

GM is testing about 40 Bolt AVs in San Francisco and Scottsdale, Arizona, and plans to extend testing this year to Detroit.