GM Reportedly Ends Ultra Cruise Program Amid Focus on Super Cruise and Cruise's Setbacks

General Motors (GM) is reportedly discontinuing its Ultra Cruise driving assistance program, despite years of speculation that the technology may compete with Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta.

GM To Reportedly Stop 'Ultra Cruise' Semi-autonomous Driving Program

As GM works to resolve concerns with its independent self-driving startup Cruise following an October accident, the manufacturer is simultaneously reallocating resources and pondering the next steps for its own semi-autonomous driving programs. According to two persons familiar with the topic quoted in a CNBC story, GM is reportedly discontinuing its Ultra Cruise project after expectations that the system would launch in the United States last year fell through.

According to one source, GM will discontinue the Ultra Cruise program in order to focus on creating the Super Cruise system, rather than having two separate ADAS systems with different naming standards. While not directly addressed, this concern appears to have been raised by one GM executive in response to the initial story.

GM continues to expand access to and increase the capability of Super Cruise, our advanced driver assistance technology. Our focus remains on safely deploying this technology across GM brands and more vehicle categories while expanding to even more roads,” Darryll Harrison Jr., GM’s VP of Global Tech Communications, said in a statement to CNBC, though he declined to comment on Ultra Cruise.

GM's Ultra Cruise Aims for Advanced Hands-Free Driving, Faces Challenges Amid Cruise Setbacks

For starters, Ultra Cruise, not to be confused with General Motors' more limited Super Cruise system, was planned to be offered in the automaker's premium vehicles, whereas the former was being developed for economy-level goods. Ultra Cruise was planned to provide hands-free driving and a broader range of applications for the advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), with the goal of eventually being able to drive the car on its own in 95 percent of circumstances.

Ultra Cruise was likewise designed to use a combination of long-range cameras and short-range sensors, and the system has more computer power than Super Cruise. Furthermore, Ultra Cruise promised the utilization of real-time data to dictate vehicle control—hence the comparison to the Tesla FSD Beta.

In a press release last year, GM confirmed plans to introduce Ultra Cruise in its Cadillac Celestiq electric vehicle (EV), having previously disclosed the software for 2021.

“Ultra Cruise will cover more than 2 million miles of roads at launch in the United States and Canada, with the capacity to grow up to more than 3.4 million miles. Customers will be able to travel truly hands free with Ultra Cruise across nearly every road including city streets, subdivision streets and paved rural roads, in addition to highways,” wrote in its original announcement of the product.

Another similarly titled GM subsidiary, Cruise has recently come under fire after one of its self-driving vehicles dragged and pinned a person in October, as per Teslarati.

The fallout of that episode has generated months of turbulence at the firm, with many executives leaving before the company laid off over a quarter of its employees. In addition, the firm is under investigation at both the state and federal levels for its vehicles' accident response and technology and GM has paused manufacturing of its Origin self-driving van.

During an Automotive Press Association event last month, GM CEO Mary Barra stated that the business was "very focused on righting the ship" at subsidiary Cruise.

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