GM customers have driven 1 billion hands-free miles with Super Cruise

General Motors (GM) customers have driven 1 billion hands-free miles with Super Cruise driver assistance technology, according to a press release. 

“This marks a major milestone in GM’s journey from today’s advanced driver assistance to future autonomous capabilities and shows customers’ affinity and trust in the system across one billion moments,” the release says.

This includes nearly 750,000 Super Cruise-enabled vehicles across 23 models in North America. The hours help generate large-scale, real-world learning that helps GM accelerate its autonomous roadmap, the release says. 

It adds that Super Cruise has experienced unique geography, varying weather conditions, disparate traffic patterns, and an expansive range of road-user behaviors. 

Rashed Haq, GM VP of vehicle autonomy, says this is just the start. 

“Super Cruise is the cornerstone of GM’s autonomous roadmap, from today’s hands-free features to eyes-off, starting with the Escalade IQ in 2028,” Haq said. “That, combined with more than a century of manufacturing expertise, puts GM at the forefront to bring automated driving to millions of retail customers at all price points.”

The driving feature is available across a broad range of vehicles from the Equinox EV to the premium Silverado, the release says. It adds that the most affordable way to go hands-free is with the 2027 Chevrolet Bolt. 

GM also plans to launch eyes-off driving on the Cadillac ESCALADE IQ in 2028. The autonomous feature is being developed for both ICE vehicles and EVs, the release says. 

“Last month, our next-generation automated technology, trained on millions of real-world miles and validated in simulation, began supervised public-road testing on limited access highways in California and Michigan,” the release says. “More than 200 development vehicles will gradually enter live traffic, each with a trained test driver ready to take control at any time. This supervised testing is a key milestone in GM’s disciplined, step-by-step approach to bringing automated driving technology to personal vehicles at scale.”

In the past year, GM customers used Super Cruise for 7.1 million hours across 28.7 million trips. Nearly half a billion engaged miles happened in the past year, the release says. 

When Super Cruise is engaged, customers spend about 24 minutes hands-free per trip, and more than 50% of Super Cruise drivers use the technology weekly. About 85% engage with Super Cruise at least once a month. 

“With consistent Super Cruise usage comes strong subscription performance and renewals,” the release says. “Super Cruise subscriptions are on pace to exceed 850,000 by the end of the year, with an attach rate post 3-year pre-paid subscription remaining in the 30-40% range.”

In the past year, the Super Cruise vehicle population grew about 70%, and the daily Super Cruise users grew roughly 80%. 

GM also announced that it will soon upgrade GM vehicles with Google Gemini, an AI assistant. This will start with model year 2022 and newer Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC vehicles with Google built in. 

Overall, about 4 million vehicles in the U.S. will be eligible for the updates. It represents the largest deployment of Gemini in the industry. 

“Gemini delivers AI assistance to millions of drivers across every segment and price point for a wide range of everyday needs,” Tim Twerdahl, GM global VP of product management, says in the release. “That kind of scale is only possible because of the connected vehicle foundation GM has built through OnStar over the past 30 years. Later this year, GM will deliver a more deeply integrated AI experience shaped by OnStar intelligence.”

Gemini is available with Google built in, the release says. This is through GM’s infotainment system, which draws on the vehicle’s software platform and OnStar connectivity power.

Consumers will be able to ask for music that fits their mood, scenery, or length of their trip, the release says. They can also talk to Gemini about the skyline or debate ideas, explore curiosities, and send texts translated into different languages. 

“Gemini lets you use natural, back-and-forth conversation, instead of commands,” the release says. “It understands context, handles follow-up questions seamlessly, and keeps getting smarter over time.”

Gemini can also help commercial drivers plan more efficient days or find trailer-friendly parking. 

Consumers will see a message on their infotainment screen when an upgrade is ready for their vehicle. The vehicle will need to be connected to OnStar, signed onto the Google Play Store, using U.S. English as its assistant language, and opted into Gemini. 

The release adds that the update will be expanded to additional GM markets and support more languages over time.

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Photo courtesy of GM