GM is Moving Forward with an Autonomous Trademark

It’s no secret that GM is working steadily toward offering us a large fleet of autonomous vehicles as part of the Cruise Automation movement they’ve built.
The plant is to use a fleet of Chevrolet Bolt models to start with which will make it possible to hail a ride that’s not only powered by electricity but also comes without a driver. While most of us think this technology is still a ways off, GM has taken another step, if only a small one, toward making this a reality for the ride-hailing community.

What Has GM Done

In a recent discovery, it was found that GM has filed a trademark application for the name “AV1”. This application is still under review, but that simple name gives us the hint we want that the future of the Cruise Automation fleet will be autonomous. Informally, the Cruise AV program from GM can make a huge difference in some areas of the country to offer easy to hail rides that all use the Bolt EV as the vehicle that’s programmed to have the qualities needed and get us where we want to go around a city.
Not only does the AV1 name hint at an autonomous vehicle fleet it also gives us the thought of a GM model that was offered in the past. The EV1 was an electric vehicle that GM produced in 1996 and ended in 1999. This car was produced in 1,100 units at the Lansing Craft Center and offered a few customers the benefit of an early model of EV driving before this propulsion system became as widespread or as affordable as it is today. This new trademark application also means we may see more influenced by this model in the future.

The EV of the Past Shows us the AV Path of the Future

When the EV1 was offered, it was a lease-only model that was well received at the time. The performance from the AC induction electric motor gave us 137 horsepower and a 26.4 kWh battery in the later models that gave us a full 160 miles on a full charge. These are numbers you might not have expected in the 1990s, but you certainly would in the EV models we see today. Unfortunately, the cost of producing spare parts made it necessary for GM to stop making the EV1.
Currently, the GM autonomous vehicles are being tested in California, Arizona, and Michigan. The company plans to deploy a fleet of the new models in 2019 as a commercial ride-sharing program. We expect to see these new models bearing the name AV1 when they arrive, but that’s still up to the approval of the trademark application. Until these models are deployed and make their way to the streets, we’re going to have to wait and see what the Cruise Automation program will become and if it will be the first to truly offer us the autonomous models that perform perfectly for us. We’ll also be waiting to see if GM decides to utilize this technology in any of their current non-EV sedans, like the Chevrolet Malibu or the Cruze.