By Kalea Hall
Oct 21 (Reuters) - General Motors plans to offer “eyes-off” autonomous driving on its highest-selling, most profitable vehicles — big pickup trucks and SUVs — as it seeks fresh revenue streams from heavy technology investments.
Last year, GM said it would offer autonomous highway driving in 2028 on its pricey but light-selling Cadillac Escalade IQ, an electric SUV. On Wednesday, the automaker said it would expand the service to its pickup trucks and other large SUVs, without specifying
a timeframe.
Many assisted-driving systems control steering and speed in certain settings —sometimes hands-free — but require the driver to remain attentive. Those include Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system and GM’s Super Cruise feature, which debuted about a decade ago.
Only a few automakers have introduced eyes-off systems, including Mercedes-Benz, with service typically limited to small geographic areas at low speeds, such as in stop-and-go traffic.
Some industry executives have said eyes-off driving that exchanges control back and forth from the car to the driver raises thorny safety and liability questions, and might not interest enough car shoppers.
Sterling Anderson, GM’s chief product officer who previously worked at autonomous-truck company Aurora, said GM is building "an autonomous system that operates safely on highways that actually gives you your time back.” He said GM will eventually expand the service to other roads.
NEW SOFTWARE BRAIN
GM is developing a new software backbone for future vehicles to deliver the automated-driving system and other digital features, expecting drivers will be willing to pay for them. GM executives outlined the plans during an event in New York on Wednesday.
A central computer will serve as the vehicle brain, allowing the car to receive remote updates like a smartphone. Tesla, Rivian and many Chinese automakers have jumped ahead of traditional automakers in designing the ability to beam software updates remotely to vehicles.
Anderson said inside GM, he refers to the new vehicles as “robots.”
“We're thinking a lot about the ways your life can be better … because your vehicle just knows what you need before you need it,” he told Reuters.
GM’s plan to transform cars into rolling, updatable computers is crucial to compete with Chinese automakers and EV-only brands such as Tesla, said Sam Abuelsamid, vice president of market research at Telemetry, an automotive research firm. If not, “they will fall even further behind the competitors.”
One reason traditional automakers have struggled with software is that they have long outsourced much of that work to suppliers, car executives and analysts have said. Anderson said GM is developing its new “central compute” model in-house, giving the company more control over updates and functionality.
“The world opens up when you control the software across the system in a way that it never was when various suppliers controlled” the car’s digital connections, Anderson said.
TARGETING HIGHER PROFIT MARGINS
Automakers reap average profit margins of around 10% selling vehicles. Software-related services can reach 30% to 40% margins, according to analysis firm PwC.
In a report last month, UBS estimated GM’s digital revenue will increase to $9.6 billion by 2036, from $3.2 billion this year. The bank called GM’s digital capabilities “an underappreciated and undervalued opportunity.”
Ed Nightingale, GM’s vice president of digital products, said GM aims to offer car owners appealing features, because it can’t start “charging for something as part of the core experience that you've always had.”
GM said it will introduce an AI assistant on the Cadillac Lyriq SUV in the coming months.
(Reporting by Kalea Hall in New York; Editing by Mike Colias and Rod Nickel)
