GM expands its Super Cruise driver assistance system to span 400,000 miles

General Motors Co (NYSE: GM) on Wednesday said owners of certain cars equipped with its Super Cruise assisted driving system will now be able to use it on 400,000 miles of North American roads, including Route 66 and the Pacific Coast Highway, doubling the current operating area.

GM’s Super Cruise is a driver assistance system, like Tesla Inc’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) Autopilot system. Super Cruise does not enable true autonomous driving.

Prompted by Tesla’s aggressive deployment of Autopilot, other carmakers like GM, Ford, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz are racing to deploy competing partial automation technology in major markets.

Super Cruise uses a system of sensors and cameras to control the car’s steering, braking and acceleration functions without the driver’s input. It also utilizes high-definition maps and an in-vehicle monitoring system to ensure drivers remain attentive while Super Cruise is operating.

Starting later this year, GM said it plans to enable vehicles equipped with Super Cruise and the company’s latest vehicle electronic system to operate hands-free on major, undivided highways in the United States and Canada, as well as additional miles of divided, interstate highways.

The expansion, enabled by broader digital mapping, will allow drivers to cruise hands-free on stretches of Route 66 in the US West or the Trans-Canada highway in Western Canada, GM said.

GM plans to offer Super Cruise as an option on its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra large pickups later this year. Earlier, the carmaker said it intends to offer Super Cruise as an option on 22 models by the end of 2023.

Depending on the model, the Super Cruise feature would cost between $2,200 to $2,500 to add as an option.

Picture Credit: Forbes

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