Honda will receive assistance from General Motors and Cruise for its planned self-driving mobility service (MaaS) in Japan.
In a recent statement, Honda confirmed that Cruise will send its self-driving test vehicles to Japan and begin local development of them later this year. The Japanese car manufacturer has also confirmed that its self-driving mobility service will use the Cruise Origin.
“This collaboration with Cruise will enable the creation of new value for mobility and people’s daily lives, which we strive for under Honda’s 2030 Vision of serving people worldwide with the joy of expanding their life’s potential,” president and representative director of Honda Motor Co, Takahiro Hachigo, said in a statement. “Through active collaboration with partners who share the same interests and aspirations, Honda will continue to accelerate the realization of our autonomous vehicle MaaS business in Japan.”
Read Also: GM, Cruise Team Up With Microsoft For Driverless Car Tech
“Cruise’s mission to provide safer, cleaner and more accessible transportation is not limited to the US,” added Cruise chief executive Dan Ammann. “These are major changes that are needed almost everywhere in the world, and this is a small, but symbolic step with Honda on our global journey.”
Honda has been a long-time investor in Cruise and the latest news comes just a few days after it was confirmed that Microsoft was among a host of new institutional investors to back Cruise, valuing the company at approximately $30 billion.
Moving forward, Cruise will use Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, Azure, for its self-driving cars.
