Cruise hopes to soon receive permission for mass production of Origin AV without steering wheel and pedals

Cruise expects to receive regulatory approval in the near future to begin mass production of its special autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel or pedals, writes This was stated by the company’s CEO Kyle Vogt, writes TechCrunch.

“We’re testing it and we are, from what we’ve heard from [the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration], just days away from the last regulatory approval, which would let us start production and almost immediately start putting these vehicles on the road,” he said.

At the same time, the National Road Traffic Safety Administration noted that there is no decision yet, nor are there any deadlines for its adoption.

We are talking about the Origin AV autonomous car, which Cruise introduced in early 2020. The manufacturer promised to release “tens of thousands” of such cars on the streets of major US cities in the next few years. However, the ability to start mass production is hampered by lengthy regulatory processes.

The car does not have a traditional control system. Therefore, Cruise needs to be granted an exemption from the motor vehicle safety standards that require vehicles to have a steering wheel and pedals. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration grants only 2,500 such exemptions each year. Although this figure could potentially increase to 25 thousand.