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Honda will commit $ 2.75 billion under an agreement with GM and its self-driving technology subsidiary, Cruise, to develop and produce a new type of autonomous vehicle.
As part of this agreement, Honda will invest $ 2 billion over the next 12 years. Honda is also investing directly and immediately in Cruise in $ 750 million, bringing the company's valuation to $ 14.6 billion.
The historic agreement follows a massive $ 2.25 billion investment by the Softbank Vision Fund in May.
This new autonomous vehicle, described by GM President Dan Ammann as "the next evolution in the future of transport," will be produced in large quantities for global deployment.
Cruise founder and CEO Kyle Vogt did not say what this next generation autonomous vehicle could look like. During a call with TechCrunch on Wednesday, he used terms such as "innovative", "space saving" and "versatile". He also highlighted Honda's know-how in space-saving design.
"When you have the opportunity to design a vehicle from the ground up, we do not limit ourselves to the following perspective: agree, there is a stand-alone vehicle that looks like an existing vehicle, what can we do with it? ? "Vogt said. "It allows us to reverse the problem and think from the first principles of what we can do with a vehicle built from scratch."
In other words, do not expect it to look like a Chevy Bolt or other "car-like" vehicle.
During the interview between TechCrunch and Vogt, it was clear that it was urgent to deploy autonomous vehicles, including the next generation, as soon as possible.
"Our intention is to go fast enough in this direction, as we have done for everything else," said Vogt, noting that this agreement reflected a long-term commitment to collaboration . "I would not look at 12 years old
GM Cruise plans to launch a stand-alone commercial service in 2019. The company has not yet officially announced the location of its launch. All indications are that it will be San Francisco, where Cruise's head office is, and is constantly testing its autonomous Chevrolet Bolts on public roads.
The three companies plan to "explore global opportunities for commercial deployment of the cruise network".
"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," said GM President and CEO Mary Barra. said in a statement. "Together, we can provide Cruise with the world's best design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities, and a global reach to position them as the leader in autonomous vehicle technology, while deploying large-scale autonomous vehicles." . "
GM and Honda, who already have a joint venture to produce hydrogen fuel cell systems by 2020, have recently strengthened their relationships, this time around electric vehicle batteries. The automakers announced in June 2018 an agreement that Honda will use GM battery cells and modules in electric vehicles designed for the North American market.
This is not Honda's first connection with an autonomous automotive technology company, although this connection with Cruise involves money and a formal deal.
Waymo, the former Google self-driving project to become a business under Alphabet, and Honda were already collaborating at the end of 2016. At the time, companies were like a technical collaboration to learn better. Integrate driving sensors, software and a computer platform into Honda vehicles. This was not a formal agreement.
It is not clear if the Honda-Waymo collaboration is active. Executive Vice President of Honda and
The director of operations, Seiji Kuraishi, who was on a press visit on Wednesday, did not want to comment on Waymo, preferring to focus on the deal with GM Cruise.
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