GM’s real-world autonomous auto tests

Now the cars are headed to Scottsdale, Arizona as well. Cruise Automation, a driverless technology company that was bought out by General Motors, is quickly expanding.

It is coming to Arizona, for the southwestern state is one of the three states that allow public road testing of autonomous vehicles – the two others being California and Nevada, as per TechnoBuffalo.

The 5-passenger, 4-door hatchback has an electric range of at least 200 miles. It can be noted that the Model 3 is hitting the market with a $35,000 price tag before incentives.

But now that GM owns the company, the American automaker wasted no time fitting Cruise Automation’s technology onto its Chevrolet Bolt. Google has been testing its self-driving auto in the area, thanks to the low cost of operating in the state and the state government’s support for testing autonomous technologies on public roads. GM has aggressive goals in terms of productizing its Cruise acquisition, however: The Wall Street Journal reported that GM hopes to put self-driving taxis into usage tests in partnership with Lyft “within a year”.