GM to offer hands-free city driving in 2023 with Ultra Cruise

DETROIT — General Motors plans to introduce an advanced driver-assistance technology called Ultra Cruise, allowing hands-free driving on city streets as well as highways, in 2023.

Super Cruise, the hands-free highway driving system it currently offers, will co-exist with Ultra Cruise. Super Cruise will be available on more mainstream vehicles, while Ultra Cruise's broader coverage will be available on premium nameplates, GM said Wednesday.

The Ultra Cruise announcement comes as part of a day of presentations to investors, during which GM is laying out a goal of doubling its annual revenue by the end of the decade as it aspires to an all-electric light-vehicle portfolio by 2035. GM this year has emphasized its evolving role as a software and technology company, expanding its business beyond traditional automotive manufacturing.

Also Wednesday, the automaker said it planned to make more than half of its North America and China plants capable of electric vehicle production by 2030. GM has said it plans to invest $35 billion in electric and autonomous vehicle development and offer 30 new EVs globally through 2025, with two-thirds of those available in North America.

"Our early investments in these growth trends have transformed GM from automaker to platform innovator, with customers at the center," GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement. "GM will use its hardware and software platforms to innovate and improve their daily experience, leading everybody on the journey to an all-electric future."

GM planned to outline its wide-ranging growth strategy to investors Wednesday with presentations from several top executives.

One of its most anticipated EVs, the Chevrolet Silverado, which the automaker teased this year, will debut at CES in January with a fixed glass roof and four-wheel steering, GM said.

Ultra Cruise would enable hands-free driving in 95 percent of driving situations and eventually could be used on every paved road in the U.S. and Canada, GM said in a statement.

Ultra Cruise will cover more than 2 million miles of roads at launch, and coverage could expand to more than 3.4 million miles.

"The combination of Ultra Cruise for premium offerings and Super Cruise for lower-cost products will enable us to offer driver assist technology across price points and segments," Doug Parks, GM executive vice president of global product development, purchasing and supply chain, said in a statement.

Ultra Cruise will be able to add features and functions through over-the-air updates, enabled by its Ultifi software and Vehicle Intelligence Platform.

Ultra Cruise will launch via the Cadillac brand when it becomes available in 2023.