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Barra, Reuss Outline Plans for Autonomous Driving, Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Tech

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GM CEO Mary Barra and Executive Vice President of Global Product Development, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain Mark Reuss

GM CEO Mary Barra and Executive Vice President of Global Product Development, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain Mark Reuss
Photo: © General Motors

General Motors CEO Mary Barra and Executive Vice President of Global Product Development, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain Mark Reuss (pictured above) sat down to address investors at a conference on Thursday. Among the topics of discussion were growth initiatives and future product launches, and a great deal of focus was placed upon the expansion of personal mobility.

“The convergence of rapidly improving technology and changing consumer preferences is creating an inflection point for the transportation industry not seen in decades,” said Barra. “Some might find this massive change to be daunting, but we look at it and see the opportunity to be a disruptor. We believe our decades of leadership in vehicle connectivity is fundamental to our quest to redefine the future of personal mobility.”

One of the major announcements concerned the addition of 2017 Chevrolet Volts equipped with autonomous driving capabilities to the fleet at the Warren Technical Center campus. The Volts are set to arrive later next year, and employees will be able to reserve and navigate the vehicles via an app. In terms of commercial applications of “Super Cruise” autonomous driving tech, it was confirmed that it will be an option for the 2017 Cadillac CT6.

Other major announcements include the launch of car- and ride-sharing projects, the revelation of an eBike concept, and plans to jointly develop hydrogen fuel-cell technologies with Honda by 2020. THE FUTURE!