General Motors (GM) has recently announced a substantial enlargement of its Super Cruise operating territory, adding approximately 750,000 miles of rural roads and minor highways across the United States and Canada, according to a report from TechCrunch. This expansion initiative is slated for completion by 2025, effectively nearly doubling the current network of 400,000 miles established by the automaker.
Initially introduced in 2017, Super Cruise facilitates fully hands-free driving under the watchful supervision of a human driver, who must remain prepared to assume manual control whenever necessary. The system relies on a sophisticated combination of highly precise GPS, cameras, radar sensors, and a driver attention monitoring mechanism to ensure the operator remains alert and engaged.
However, Super Cruise operation is limited to specific roadways that have undergone LiDAR scanning commissioned by GM and conducted by third-party contractors. This scanning process generates detailed maps containing lane-level information, topographical data, curvature radii of road segments, and more, enabling Super Cruise to dynamically adjust vehicle speeds as warranted. This capability proves particularly crucial on rural routes and highways, which often feature tight bends, steep gradients, and other potentially hazardous road conditions.
GM has adopted a cautious approach to the deployment of its driver assistance technology, particularly in comparison to competitors such as Tesla, which offers a Full Self-Driving system priced at $12,000 and capable of operating on urban streets. While GM had previously introduced the Ultra Cruise system, touted as potentially offering hands-free operation in city environments for up to “95 percent” of driving scenarios, reports indicate that this initiative has been shelved, with GM now focusing its efforts entirely on the advancement of Super Cruise.
Currently, GM offers Super Cruise across a lineup of 15 vehicles, encompassing pickup trucks, SUVs, the Bolt EUV, and all models within the Cadillac portfolio. The most substantial prior expansion of the Super Cruise network occurred in 2022, when it grew from 200,000 to 400,000 miles of coverage.
