The Origin’s driveline was designed with GM’s next-generation EVs, Ammann said. “We’re really focused on getting the costs down. One of the ways we can do that is by piggybacking on millions of units of GM volume,” he said. “By building this in the way we are, it allows us to be at an ultra-low cost where we can deliver them and make money at the same time.”
Cruise has focused on optimizing cost by taking out parts and technology unnecessary for a driverless, point-to-point commuting system. The Origin can reach highway speed, but “it doesn’t need to have 150 mph top speed or a 0 to 60 time in three seconds,” Ammann said. “We put the money in where it matters for the customer, and we take it out where it doesn’t.”
Producing the Origin costs half as much as building a high-end electric SUV, such as the Tesla Model X, Cruise officials said.
Ammann did not disclose what consumers would pay for the Cruise ride-hailing service, but he said the price point would entice consumers to use Cruise over the options they have today.
“We all know that ride-share today is several dollars a mile. The personal-car ownership is a dollar a mile, depending on where you live. Our goal is to deliver something that can beat all of that,” he said.
A low price point and a better customer experience are essential to take Cruise’s service to scale, Ammann said.
Today’s cars sit idle 95 percent of the time and rarely get to 150,000 miles, Ammann said. The Origin will be in motion most of the time and have a life span of more than a million miles, Ammann said.
“All told, the average San Franciscan household driving themselves or using ride-sharing, will, on average, see up to $5,000 back in their pocket every year,” he said. “At the same time, we’ll have fewer cars clogging our roads, fewer cars piled up in our parking lots and fewer cars going to the scrap heap.”
