Cruise, General Motors (GM) and Honda have announced plans for a joint venture that will begin a driverless ridehail service in Japan in early 2026, pending regulatory approvals. The new service, named Cruise Origin, will be purpose built as a driverless ridehail service, picking up customers at a specified location and driving them to the destination. Customers will use a dedicated app on their smartphones to complete the entire process, from hailing to payment.
The Cruise Origin is a self-driving vehicle with no driver’s seat or steering wheel. It features a vast cabin space that can be as private as a personally owned vehicle and allows six people to ride simultaneously, facing-to-face. This driverless ridehail service will aim to offer an entirely new kind of mobility experience in Japan and target a wide range of customers, including business people, families, visitors and more.
The driverless ridehail service will begin in central Tokyo in early 2026, initially using "dozens of Cruise Origins," and then plans to "expand to a fleet of 500 Cruise Origins" in short order. The company plans to subsequently expand and scale the service to areas outside of central Tokyo.
The company "will strive to offer a new value of mobility, while also helping address societal issues facing Japan, such as the taxi and bus driver shortage" according to a brief statement issued today.
The Cruise Origin will be shown for the first time at the Honda booth at the Japan Mobility Show 2023, which begins on 28 October in Tokyo. The Japan Mobility Show was formerly known as the Tokyo Motor Show.
Source: Honda