Chevrolet, owned by General Motors, have been a complete success with its Chevy Bolt EV that has been garnering praises from different personalities and media outlets. The Bolt EVs impressive 238mile range on a single charge capacity is a winner for the consumers, especially with a price tag of only $37, 495 dollars, which is a lot cheaper than its Tesla counterpart. The 2017 Chevy Bolt EV was General Motor's answer to the public demands of a cost-efficient green car.
With the success of the now famous Chevy Bolt EV, it's no wonder that General Motors decided to use the same vehicle as its test unit for a fully autonomous vehicle. The Bolt EV's capacity to go far is a factor that every autonomous vehicle needs. Being driverless, the vehicle charge should be enough to reach the nearest charging station before it runs out of juice, especially with plans of having zilch human interaction for autonomous cars in the future.
General Motors announced the plan after Governor Rick Snyder signed the SAVE act, a set of rules and regulations aimed at promoting autonomous vehicle deployment. The Save Act allows car manufacturers to use their self-driving cars as a means of public transportation through ride-sharing or ride-hailing services. It will also allow autonomous cars to operate without a human operator sitting behind the steering wheel, and provisions on the sale of autonomous cars to consumers.
The Chevy Bolt EV autonomous car has begun testing in General Motor's Technical center campus in Warren, Michigan. General Motors said that with the release of the SAVE Act, they can finally start testing on public roads to get better real world results. Testing sites include Detroit, which is also known as Motor City. General Motors said that testing in the city would help them analyze data on how the self-driving car will act and drive during the winter season.
"For the past century, Detroit has been at the center of the automobile, as we look toward the next phase of mobility, it's clear that the Motor City will continue to play a pivotal role bringing together the best of what Detroit and Silicon Valley have to offer," said John Krafcik, CEO of Waymo.