The company Cruise, manufacturer of self-driving vehicles and a subsidiary of General Motors will be launching its first international robotaxi service in Dubai.
The vehicle company will start testing its vehicles in UAE in 2023 with plans to launch a commercial ride-hailing service.
The agreement marks significant expansion plans for Cruise, which has been concentrating its self-driving vehicle testing in San Francisco. It has grown its registered testing fleet to more than 200 vehicles but hasn’t yet announced when it plans to offer a robotaxi fleet to the public in San Francisco.
The deployment of these self-driving vehicles is expected to significantly improve road safety levels as over 90% of accidents are due to human errors.
The all-electric vehicles are environmentally-friendly and capable of serving a wide range of clients from different community segments, including seniors and people of determination.
This agreement will support Dubai’s 2030 vision for self-driving technology, as part of which the emirate seeks to reduce transportation costs by AED900 million a year and save AED1.5 billion a year by reducing environmental pollution by 12 per cent, as well as generate AED18 billion in annual economic returns by increasing the efficiency of the transportation sector in Dubai.
Over the last three years, Cruise has raised over $9.25 billion from a number of investors including SoftBank, Honda, GM, T. Rowe Price Group, and Microsoft. Cruise is currently valued at $30 billion.
The director-general and chairman of the Dubai RTA Board of Executive Directors, Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer said
“The selection of Cruise was not taken lightly. We engaged in a comprehensive, multi-year process to choose the best possible partner.”
The CEO of Cruise, Dan Ammann said:
“The Cruise Origin will make transportation safer, a better experience, more affordable and better for the planet, Dubai and the RTA are leading the way in making this a reality for their people, and for people everywhere.”
