Dubai buys from General Motors 4 thousand unmanned shuttles for taxis

In mid-April 2021, it became known that Dubai was buying 4 thousand unmanned shuttles for taxis from General Motors. Cruise, a subsidiary of GM for the production of unmanned vehicles, has signed an agreement with the Dubai road and transport department and will become an exclusive provider of unmanned taxi services until 2029. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Cruise, based in San Francisco, plans to begin operations in Dubai in 2023. A company spokesman declined to say when unmanned vehicles would become available to the public in Dubai. According to a press release, Cruise plans to expand the city fleet to 4,000 unmanned vehicles by 2030.

Dubai buys from General Motors 4 thousand unmanned shuttles for taxis

The agreement marks a significant expansion plan for Cruise. The company has increased its fleet of test vehicles to more than 200 cars, but has not yet announced when it will be able to offer robotaxis services to San Francisco residents. Initially, the company planned to do this in 2019. However, it is already known that Dubai will become the first city outside the United States where the company will deploy the Cruise Origin fleet of fully electric unmanned vehicles introduced in 2020.

Cruise will also create a new subsidiary in Dubai, which will be fully responsible for the deployment, operation and maintenance of the unmanned taxi fleet. According to the press release, the signing of the agreement was witnessed by the Crown Prince of Dubai Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Cruise was represented by Jeff Bleich, a former US ambassador and head of Cruise's legal office.

The Cruise deal will be part of Dubai's transportation cost reduction program and a 25% transition to unmanned vehicles by 2030.^[1]

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