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GM Cruise, an independent subsidiary of the automaker, is developing a standalone taxi based on the Chevrolet Bolt EV. He plans to launch his large-scale service in 2019.(Photo: General Motors)

DETROIT – General Motors partners with Honda to accelerate the roll-out of autonomous cars in major cities in 2019.

Honda will contribute approximately $ 2 billion over 12 years to this partnership and will fund a $ 750 million equity investment in Cruise, GM's independent automaker.

By the end of 2019, GM had already promised autonomous car pilots a carpool capacity in some cities in the United States. The new alliance adds a new layer of credibility to this goal, by tightening the alliance between US and Japanese automakers, who were already working together to develop batteries for electric cars and hydrogen fuel cells.

Honda will now work with Cruise and GM to fund and develop a "purpose-built" self-contained car for Cruise that can serve "a wide variety of use cases and can be manufactured at a high volume for worldwide deployment", said GM in a statement. declaration.

In addition, GM and Honda will examine how to market the Cruise network in global markets.

"The combined forces of General Motors and Honda, already working on fuel cells, with GM Cruise Automation to build autonomous vehicles, mark an important step in bringing autonomous driving closer to reality," he said. Michelle Krebs, Analyst at Autotrader.

"It also shows that partnerships like these – Detroit, Silicon Valley and Japan – are needed to take on these expensive companies that will probably not make any profit in the short term."

More: SoftBank, Uber's financial partner, invests $ 2 billion in the construction of autonomous cars

More: GM and Honda sign agreement to develop batteries for electric vehicles

More: GM and Honda to manufacture hydrogen fuel cells at Michigan plant

GM had already attracted a $ 2.25 billion investment from SoftBank Vision Fund in its autonomous car division, fueling speculation that the Detroit-based automaker could collaborate with SoftBank Uber's investment.

After the Honda and SoftBank agreements, the Cruises division represents a value of $ 14.6 billion, said Wednesday to the press Mary Barra, CEO of GM.

"This is the next logical step in the relationship between General Motors and Honda, given our joint work on electric vehicles and our close integration with Cruise," Barra said in a statement.

"Together, we can provide Cruise with the world's best design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities, as well as a global reach to position them as the leader in autonomous vehicle technology, while deploying autonomous vehicles to large scale, "she said.

GM President Dan Amman said the automaker was moving "as fast as possible" and that it now has considerable resources to bring autonomous cars to the roads safely and quickly.

"As for other partnerships and opportunities, we will evaluate things as we go along," Amman told reporters.

Amman said GM was still aiming at deploying autonomous cars for next year, but added, "Our ultimate decision to deploy depends on security."

"Honda has chosen to collaborate with Cruise and General Motors because of their leadership in autonomous and electric vehicle technology and our shared vision of a no-emissions, no-collision world," said Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer. of exploitation, Seiji Kuraishi, in a statement. .

"We will complement their assets with our expertise in space efficiency and design to develop the most desirable and efficient shared autonomous vehicle."

Contribute: Nathan Bomey, journalist for USA TODAY

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