General Motors has big plans for its self-driving vehicle technology and said plans seem to be approaching quicker than first imagined. A new report from Reuters states GM will build thousands of autonomous 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EVs, but not for public sale. Instead, these self-driving Bolt EVs would be for ride-sharing service, Lyft.
The report claims the majority of the newly produced self-driving cars would head to Lyft fleets, where the vehicles will encounter greater real-world scenarios. GM previously announced it would begin manufacturing its next generation of self-driving vehicles this year at the Orion assembly plant in Michigan.
Should this substantial autonomous vehicle rollout occur, GM would also fulfill its promise to provide a fleet of self-driving vehicles for Lyft to serve markets in the U.S., which it said was part of the original $500 million investment made into Lyft last year.
“We have said that our AV technology will appear in an on-demand ride-sharing network application sooner than you might think,” the automaker said in a statement. Lyft and GM did not comment further on the matter.
The plan may have to clear some major hurdles, though. Most states do not have any sort of regulations for the use of autonomous vehicles on public roads. However, Michigan recently took an improved stance on self-driving vehicles when the state passed legislation on the development and future use of autonomous vehicles by the public.
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Hey, GM Build some Bolts for your folks in Michigan!!!! What are you waiting for! Wait to long you may lose some customers!!!