GM, Honda & Cruise Will Ferry You In Driverless Taxis Without Steering Wheels
General Motors (GM), Honda, and autonomous vehicle firm Cruise have joined forces, recently announcing a plan to introduce a driverless ride-hailing service in Japan.
Operations are scheduled to begin in early 2026, which will see the Cruise Origin—a self-driving vehicle developed by the trio—making its way through the streets without a driver’s seat or steering wheel.
Instead, the car offers a spacious cabin that can comfortably accommodate up to six passengers, who can enjoy face-to-face seating so they can converse with one another throughout the ride.
To hail a ride, customers will use a dedicated smartphone application to streamline the entire process—from requesting a vehicle to completing the payment.
With just a few taps, the Cruise Origin will arrive at the specified location to transport passengers to their desired destination, relying solely on autonomous driving technology.
Initially, the project will comprise a fleet of dozens of Cruise Origins traveling through the capital of Tokyo. As the service gains momentum, the number of vehicles zipping along the roads could then be increased to 500.
According to a statement, beyond the convenience and novelty of driverless transportation, this collaboration also seeks to address critical societal issues facing Japan, such as the shortage of taxi and bus drivers.
Passengers can catch the first glimpse of the Cruise Origin at the Honda booth during the upcoming Japan Mobility Show 2023.
“Honda is striving to create the ‘joy and freedom of mobility.’ Through our driverless ridehail service, we will enable customers in Japan to experience a new value of mobility, improve the quality of their mobility experiences and offer the joy of mobility,” said Toshihiro Mibe, Global CEO at Honda.
“This will be a major step toward the realization of an advanced mobility society. Providing this service in central Tokyo where the traffic environment is complex will be a great challenge, however, by working jointly with Cruise and GM, Honda will exert further efforts to make it a reality.”
