SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Cruise and
General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) announced today that they have joined
forces with Honda (TYO: 7267) to pursue the shared goal of
transforming mobility through the large-scale deployment of
autonomous vehicle technology.
Honda will work jointly with Cruise and General Motors to fund
and develop a purpose-built autonomous vehicle for Cruise that can
serve a wide variety of use cases and be manufactured at high
volume for global deployment. In addition, Cruise, General Motors
and Honda will explore global opportunities for commercial
deployment of the Cruise network.
Honda will contribute approximately $2
billion over 12 years to these initiatives, which, together
with a $750 million equity investment
in Cruise, brings its total commitment to the project to
$2.75 billion.
In addition to the recently announced SoftBank investments, this
transaction brings the post-money valuation of Cruise to
$14.6 billion.
"This is the logical next step in General Motors and Honda's
relationship, given our joint work on electric vehicles, and our
close integration with Cruise," said General Motors Chairman and
CEO Mary Barra. "Together, we can
provide Cruise with the world's best design, engineering and
manufacturing expertise, and global reach to establish them as the
leader in autonomous vehicle technology – while they move to deploy
self-driving vehicles at scale."
"Honda chose to collaborate with Cruise and General Motors based
on their leadership in autonomous and electric vehicle technology
and our shared vision of a zero-emissions and zero-collision
world," said Honda Executive Vice President and Representative
Director COO Seiji Kuraishi. "We
will complement their strengths through our expertise in space
efficiency and design to develop the most desirable and effective
shared autonomous vehicle."
"With the backing of General Motors, SoftBank and now Honda,
Cruise is deeply resourced to accomplish our mission to safely
deploy autonomous technology across the globe," said Cruise CEO
Kyle Vogt. "The Honda partnership
paves the way for massive scale by bringing a beautiful, efficient,
and purpose-built vehicle to our network of shared autonomous
vehicles." More details on the benefits of the partnership to
Cruise can be found here.
General Motors is a global company committed to
delivering safer, better and more sustainable ways for people to
get around. General Motors, its subsidiaries and its joint venture
entities sell vehicles under
the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Holden, Baojun, Wuling and Jiefang brands.
More information on the company and its subsidiaries,
including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety and
security services, and Maven, its personal mobility brand, can
be found at http://www.gm.com.
Honda Motor Co. (NYSE: HMC), Honda designs, manufactures
and markets automobiles, motorcycles, power products and aviation
products worldwide. A global leader in powertrain and electromotive
technologies, Honda produces nearly 30 million engines annually for
its three product lines. Honda and its partners build products in
more than 60 manufacturing plants in 27 countries, employing more
than 208,000 associates globally.
General Motors Forward-looking statements: This press
release and related comments by management may include
forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current
expectations about possible future events and thus are inherently
uncertain. Our actual results may differ materially from
forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including:
(1) our ability to deliver new products, services and experiences
that attract new, and are desired by existing, customers and to
effectively compete in autonomous, ride-sharing and transportation
as a service; (2) sales of crossovers, SUVs and full-size pick-up
trucks; (3) our ability to reduce the costs associated with the
manufacture and sale of electric vehicles; (4) the volatility of
global sales and operations; (5) our significant business in
China which subjects us to unique
operational, competitive and regulatory risks; (6) our joint
ventures, which we cannot operate solely for our benefit and over
which we may have limited control; (7) changes in government
leadership and laws (including tax laws), economic tensions between
governments and changes in international trade policies, new
barriers to entry and changes to or withdrawals from free trade
agreements, changes in foreign exchange rates, economic downturns
in foreign countries, differing local product preferences and
product requirements, compliance with U.S. and foreign countries'
export controls and economic sanctions, differing labor regulations
and difficulties in obtaining financing in foreign countries; (8)
our dependence on our manufacturing facilities; (9) the ability of
suppliers to deliver parts, systems and components without
disruption and on schedule; (10) prices of raw materials; (11) our
highly competitive industry; (12) the possibility that competitors
may independently develop products and services similar to ours
despite our intellectual property rights; (13) security breaches
and other disruptions to our vehicles, information technology
networks and systems; (14) compliance with laws and regulations
applicable to our industry, including those regarding fuel economy
and emissions; (15) costs and risks associated with litigation and
government investigations; (16) the cost and effect on our
reputation of product safety recalls and alleged defects in
products and services; (17) our ability to successfully and
cost-efficiently restructure operations in various countries,
including Korea, with minimal disruption to our supply chain and
operations, globally; (18) our ability to realize production
efficiencies and to achieve reductions in costs; (19) our ability
to develop captive financing capability through GM Financial; (20)
significant increases in pension expense or projected pension
contributions; and (21) our ability to consummate the announced
transactions on the expected terms and within the anticipated time
period. A further list and description of these risks,
uncertainties and other factors can be found in our Annual Report
on Form 10-K, and our subsequent filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. GM cautions readers not to place undue
reliance on forward-looking statements. GM undertakes no obligation
to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking
statements.
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/honda-joins-with-cruise-and-general-motors-to-build-new-autonomous-vehicle-300723563.html
SOURCE General Motors