General Motors Co. (ticker: GM) has announced the production of 130 self-driving Chevrolet Bolt EVs at its Orion Assembly Plant in Detroit. The Bolt EVs will be joining GM’s existing fleet of over 50 driverless vehicles being tested out in various locations across the U.S., and GM investors are hoping the news represents a significant step toward tackling the driverless electric vehicle mass market.
GM’s latest fleet of driverless cars features next-generation lidar and radar technology as well as over 40 sensors and cameras. These hardware and software enhancements will increase driving speed and allow the autonomous vehicles to see farther and better in varying weather conditions.
[See: 10 Ways to Invest in Driverless Cars.]
“Production of these vehicles began in January, making GM the first — and to this date — the only automotive company to assemble self-driving vehicles in a mass-production facility,” GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said at a media event held Tuesday at the assembly plant.
Over the past month, pilot testing of a few of the next-generation self-driving Bolts began in San Francisco. According to GM officials, the autonomous vehicles produced at the Orion Assembly Plant will soon be deployed to Detroit, San Francisco and Scottsdale, Arizona.
By the end of the year, GM projects to have hundreds of driverless Bolt EV test cars on the road.
But despite GM’s efforts to expand its fleet of electric vehicles, critics maintain that legacy auto makers such as GM and Ford Motor Co. ( F) have not been taking enough risks or making significant enough investments to seize control of the EV market.
The conservative approach of balancing future competitiveness with present-day profitability will ultimately cause Ford and GM to lose out against the risk-taking, all-in approach of EV competitor Tesla ( TSLA), Berenberg analyst Alexander Haissl says.
“With no clear pathway to high-volume EV production for these OEMs before the mid-2020s, Tesla will be given a near-monopolistic opportunity to gain market share and outcompete the incumbent automotive industry,” Haissl wrote on Tuesday.
[Read: Should You Buy Auto Stocks?]
Investors seem skeptical of GM’s ability to compete with Tesla as well. Despite a generous 4.4 percent dividend yield, GM stock trades at a forward price-earnings ratio of 5.6, the third-lowest in the Standard and Poor’s 500 index. GM stock is also down 1 percent for the year, while Tesla shares have soared 76.5 percent.
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GM Adds 130 Self-Driving Bolts to Test Fleet originally appeared on usnews.com
