GM to expand its Super Cruise network, adding hundreds of thousands of miles of ‘hands-free’ roads

General Motors (GM) has announced a massive expansion to its Super Cruise hands-free driver assistance network. The expansion will double the size of the current Super Cruise network to over 400,000 miles of compatible roadways and will soon be available to over 20 GM models.

Super Cruise is a hands-free driver assistance feature introduced by GM for its marques years ago. It uses adaptive cruise control technology and connected services in the vehicle to navigate LiDAR-enabled map data using real-time positioning, cameras, and sensors.

The result is an EV that can control its own acceleration and braking while on compatible roads. In recent years, GM has added upgrades to Super Cruise to include new functions, like automatic lane changes.

We’ve seen Super Cruise in action on GM vehicles like the Chevy Bolt EV and EUV, and the American automaker reported that over 34 million miles with Super Cruise engaged have been driven by its customers to date.

Following an announcement this morning, GM will be significantly bolstering the size of the Super Cruise network in the US and Canada and will expand functionality to 22 different models in the next 18 months.

Super Cruise is expanding to 22 GM vehicles by 2023

According to its press release, General Motors is doubling the Super Cruise network in North America to cover over 400,000 miles of roads. Previously, the network was only mapped out against interstate highways, but it will now be available on many state and federal routes as well. Here are a couple of notable routes in the expansion:

• US Route 66 (The Mother Road)
• CA Route 1 (Pacific Coast Highway)
• US Route 1 (Overseas Highway)
• Trans-Canada Highway

In addition to the map expansion, GM is also adding functionality to more of its vehicles, particularly those built on the new VIP architecture. This includes EVs like the Cadillac Lyriq, GMC Hummer EV, Chevy Silverado EV, Blazer EV, and more. GM Chief Engineer, Super Cruise, Mario Maiorana spoke:

GM is all in when it comes to accessible advanced driver assistance technology. We are adding Super Cruise to more vehicles than ever, and on more roads for more customers to experience. We are pursuing what we believe to be the most comprehensive path to autonomy in the industry with responsible deployment of automated driving technology like Super Cruise at the core of what we do.

All in all, General Motors will add Super Cruise to 22 new vehicles before the end of 2023. The expansion will begin rolling out on 2022 models on the VIP architecture later this year as a free over-the-air (OTA) update, while 2023 models should come with the expanded network access already activated. Check out Super Cruise in action below:

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