GM Mass Produces Self-Driving Chevrolet Bolt EV Test Vehicles
Lake Orion (WWJ) - General Motors announced it has completed production of 130 self-driving Chevy Bolt EVs at the Orion Assembly Plant in Oakland County. The new cars will join 50 other self-driving cars that are undergoing tests in Metro Detroit, San Francisco and Scottsdale, Arizona. CEO Mary Barra said the production milestone brings GM one step closer to making personal mobility a reality. Testing of the Bolts has been ongoing on public roads in Warren since January.
WWJ AutoBeat Reporter Jeff Gilbert visited the company's Orion Township plant and talked at length with Barra.
VIDEO: We talk with @GM CEO @mtbarra about start of mass production of automated vehicles @CBSDetroit @WWJ950 @AfternoonsWWJ pic.twitter.com/15z11YqtHS
— Jeff Gilbert (@jefferygilbert) June 13, 2017
It's mass production, but not mass sales yet.
When will the general public be able to use one of these automated vehicles? While there are no hard dates yet Barra cited goals the vehicles have to meet before that can happen. "... as we achieve those we'll then do that but we're not announcing a specific time and we will meet our internal targets to make sure we provide the safety our customers want and deserve," she said.
Barra said getting individuals into automated vehicles is the key to making them comfortable with the technology.
"To achieve what we want from self-driving cars, we must deploy them at scale," said Cruise Automation CEO Kyle Vogt. "By developing the next-generation self-driving platform in San Francisco and manufacturing these cars in Michigan, we are creating the safest and most consistent conditions to bring our cars to the most challenging urban roads that we can find."