Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Cruise, a General Motors subsidiary, signed a strategic partnership to operate autonomous vehicles — robotaxis — in the emirates by 2023. As a result, Dubai will be the first city outside the US to operate self-driving Cruise vehicles.

The focus on self-driving technology, electrification and autonomy continues to accelerate and that was evidenced further by the investment in Silicon Valley based start-up NAUTO, by General Motors and SoftBank Group.

Gary West, Managing Director, OnStar Middle East Operations and Future Mobility at General Motors Africa and Middle East, declares that autonomous vehicles in the UAE are the key to 2030 Dubai future vision.

Aiming to slash the cost of future electric vehicle batteries and reducing its dependence on price-sensitive metals such as cobalt, General Motors Co is experimenting with silicon-rich and lithium metal anodes, solid state and high voltage electrolytes, and dry processing of electrodes for its next generation of Ultium batteries, due around 2025, according to the company’s president Mark Reuss. 

South Korean car manufacturing colossus Hyundai has confirmed that it is currently working on developing a 'long distance' electric car in an effort to compete with Tesla and other rivals in the electric automotive sector.

A Japanese conglomerate has announced that it will make an investment of $2.25bn in US car manufacturing colossus General Motors. Telecommunications giant SoftBank will invest the capital in GM's autonomous car program in exchange for a stake in the ambitious mobility venture.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and General Motors (GM) on Tuesday announced their collaboration to deliver premium experiences to upcoming vehicles.  Building on the companies’ long-standing relationship spanning across multiple cellular technology generations, the companies will use their expertise to feature highly advanced technologies needed for next generation vehicles. Through this relationship, Qualcomm Technologies is working with GM to power digital cockpits, next generation telematics systems and future advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), to meet the evolving needs of providing best-in-class experiences for consumers.

Research conducted in the United States is projecting that the sales of autonomous vehicles is set to explode exponentially in the next eight years. The increase in sales is expected to be primarily propelled by aggressive investment from the likes of Google subsidiary Waymo.

Food delivery service DoorDash announced it is teaming up with General Motors to test using self-driving cars to deliver meals and groceries in San Francisco. A pilot program with the US automaker's Cruise Automation division will start in March, according to the San Francisco-based startup launched in 2013 by Stanford University students.