GM’s Cruise to resume testing AVs in California

General Motors’ autonomous vehicle (AV) division Cruise will resume testing in California soon using up to five AVs.

Cruise paused its California testing operations last year following an incident that resulted in an injured pedestrian, says GM Authority.

New California testing plans were announced by Cruise on X (formerly Twitter).

Cruise resumed testing in Arizona in April, says GM Authority, adding operations restarted there followed an injury accident in San Francisco in 2023 in which a pedestrian was struck by a human-driven vehicle and “launched” in front of an autonomous test vehicle.

“In response to the incident, the AV tech company implemented a massive company restructuring, laying off 24% of its workforce. Several top executives left as well, including company CEO Kyle Vogt.

“In addition, the company paid a series of fines and hired an independent third-party to investigate the incident. GM President Mark Reuss later remarked that regaining the public’s trust in AV technology could take years.”

The AV tech company resumed testing with human safety drivers in three US cities in May, says GM Authority, adding Cruise now aims to resume driverless rides by the end of the year and charge fares as early as 2025.

GM Authority says Uber is also set to bring Cruise AVs to its platform next year.

In October last year GM also announced it planned to introduce an AV ride-hailing service to Japan in early 2026.