Honda, GM and Cruise Plan to Begin Driverless Ride Service in early 2026

The Three Companies Enter Memorandum of Understanding Aiming to Establish a JV Company to Provide Driverless Ride Service in Japan

Cruise, General Motors Company (GM) and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda) today announced that they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding aiming to establish a joint venture which will begin a driverless ride service in Japan in early 2026. The three companies aim to establish this new company in the first half of 2024 pending regulatory approvals.

Overview of the service

With this new service, the Cruise Origin, jointly developed by GM, Cruise and Honda and purpose built for a driverless ride service, will come pick up the customers at a specified location and drive them to the destination, entirely through self-driving. Customers will use a dedicated app on their smart phones to complete the entire process from hailing to payment.

The Cruise Origin is a self-driving vehicle with no driver's seat or steering wheel. It features a vast cabin space that can be as private as a personally-owned vehicle and that allows 6 people to ride simultaneously, facing-to-face. This driverless ride service will offer an entirely new kind of mobility experience in Japan. Targeting and target a wide range of customers, including business people, families, visitors and more.

The three companies are planning to launch the driverless ride service in central Tokyo in early 2026. The service will start with dozens of Cruise Origins, and then expand to a fleet of 500 Cruise Origins. The three companies plan to subsequently expand and scale the service to areas outside of central Tokyo.

Collaboration with relevant industries

Through this driverless ride service, the three companies will strive to offer a new value of mobility, while also helping address societal issues facing Japan, such as the taxi and bus driver shortage. Honda and the new JV company will continue to strengthen coordination and collaboration with various stakeholders, including local municipal governments and transportation service providers.

Photo credit: Honda
posted on conceptcarz.com

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