General Motors and Cruise Seek Regulatory Approval for Self Driving Cars

General Motors (GM) and its autonomous technology unit, Cruise, have filed a petition to build and deploy a self-driving car without human controls. GM shares fell 0.45% to close at $48.60 on February 18.

General Motors designs, manufactures, and sells cars and automobile parts. Its notable brands include Chevrolet and Cadillac. General Motors’ earnings report for Q1 2022 is scheduled for April 26, 2022.

GM and Cruise Petition

The petition to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is for Cruise Origin, an autonomous electric car designed to operate without a human driver. The car has been purposefully designed to operate without human controls such as steering wheels or brake pedals.

According to Reuters, The NHTSA has the legal mandate to allow for the testing of a limited number of vehicles without human controls on U.S. roads. Currently, companies can seek exemption from safety standards under existing federal rules for up to 2,500 cars for up to two years.

A filing with the NHTSA signals that Cruise and General Motors are ready to focus on the development of Cruise Origin. In a blog post, Cruise says it is ready to expand mobility options for people who have faced barriers to reliable transportation, including senior citizens and the blind.

Stock Rating

Nomura analyst Anindya Das downgraded General Motors Stock to a Hold from a Buy and cut the price target to $56 from $66, implying 15.23% upside potential to current levels. According to the analyst, the global semiconductor shortage poses a significant danger to the automaker. In addition, Das warned that investments in electric vehicles will be margin dilutive to GM in the short term.

Consensus among analysts is a Moderate Buy based on 10 Buys and 5 Holds. The average analyst price target of $74.27 implies 52.82% upside potential to current levels.

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