General Motors is preparing to offer its hands-free driving technology, Super Cruise, in Europe as early as next year, according to GM Europe President Pere Brugal. The Cadillac Lyriq and Cadillac Optiq are already equipped to support the advanced driver-assistance system, pending regulatory approval from European authorities.
Pere addressed GM’s European strategy in an interview with Automotive News at the Paris Auto Show this past October.
For those readers who may be unaware, Super Cruise is GM’s semi-autonomous driver assistance technology, and is currently available to customers in the U.S., Canada, and China. The system allows for hands-free driving on a selection of highways and roads, and is set to debut in the Middle East by 2025, with potential plans for expansion into Mexico based on recent trademark filings.
Cadillac is leveraging its EV and premium luxury offerings to re-establish itself in Europe, a market that has historically been challenging for the brand. The launch of the all-electric Cadillac Lyriq and the forthcoming Optiq crossover is part of GM’s broader $35 billion investment in EV and autonomous vehicle technologies. With this new lineup, Cadillac aims to enter 10 European markets and position itself as a key player in the premium EV segment.
In addition to offering Super Cruise, GM’s European EV customers will have access to 780,000 charging stations through a dedicated charge app and a Cadillac charge card. Cadillac is also introducing a direct-to-customer (D2C) hybrid sales model to streamline customer interactions. This approach combines Cadillac-operated brand experience locations with partnerships for after sales and B2B services with the aim of ensuring high customer satisfaction.
What’s more, GM is collaborating with battery suppliers like LG and Samsung to meet the diverse needs of the electric mobility market. These partnerships include the development of new prismatic battery technologies, thus providing greater flexibility with regard to battery solutions.
Comments
Hands free driving? I don’t get the appeal. Oh well.
When they are finally forced to leave home they still have “mommy” driving them around town .
For mundane tasks, the more hands free the better. Road trips it is great, having to eat on the road it is awesome, bumper to bumper traffic is fantastic. As these systems improve and are less and less needed to be watched it makes the times that aren’t enjoyable to drive much better. Being a car guy I still enjoy driving much of the time, but there are plenty of times I wish automation could take the wheel, and some of the times I have been able to use it in those scenarios have been great. We rented a Lexus ES that handled all the San Francisco traffic for us. Been on road trips after landing where we needed to eat and the car would drive it self while I had lunch and I just had to touch the wheel every 30 seconds or so. No driving with my knee to make sure I am not drifting over the line. On long as road trips it is nice to not have to pay full attention centering the car in the lane and I can enjoy the scenery. Plenty of good opportunities that still let one drive during the more enjoyable times like back roads. I for sure see the appeal and will appreciate as it becomes more mainstream and cheaper, you can always turn it off…
Yet another thing that GM (and Ford) is obsessed with when the vast majority of Americans want absolutely nothing to do with it. Customer surveys, anyone? Oh, no, that would be too boring.
What could possibly go wrong ?
It sounds ridiculous as GM concentrates only on a few European markets completely ignoring east-central Europe. Meanwhile dozen of Chinese brands are available everywhere.
Their volumes in Europe will be so small few people will notice or care.