GM Completes Production Of First 130 Next-Gen Self-Driving Chevy Bolt EVs

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GM has finished production of its first batch of next-generation, self-driving Chevy Bolt EV test vehicles, according to a new press release.

The 130 Chevy Bolt EVs in question were produced at the company’s Orion Assembly Plant in Orion Township, Michigan. They join the 50 Chevy Bolt EVs currently being tested with the previous generation of the company’s self-driving tech in parts of California, Arizona, and Detroit, Michigan.

“This production milestone brings us one step closer to making our vision of personal mobility a reality,” commented GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra. “Expansion of our real-world test fleet will help ensure that our self-driving vehicles meet the same strict standards for safety and quality that we build into all of our vehicles.”

The press release provides more: “GM became the first company to assemble self-driving test vehicles in a mass-production facility when its next generation of self-driving Chevrolet Bolt EV test vehicles began rolling off of the line at Orion Township in January.”

Hmm, that’s quite a claim, since Tesla claims that all the cars its been producing since late 2016 have had hardware allowing full self-driving capability. But I guess GM’s point is that these cars will actually include the self-driving software right off the bat as well.

“The self-driving Chevrolet Bolt EVs feature GM’s latest array of equipment, including LIDAR, cameras, sensors and other hardware designed to accelerate development of a safe and reliable fully autonomous vehicle,” the press release adds.

“To achieve what we want from self-driving cars, we must deploy them at scale,” commented 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.”

For a clearer idea of what he means with that, see: GM President Dan Ammann Rides In Autonomous Chevy Bolt EV (Video).


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James Ayre

James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.

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