GM's Super Cruise Hands-Free Driving Is Getting A Huge Expansion

GM, just like Tesla, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, Ford, and other giant automakers, is working towards autonomous technology to stay ahead of the competition. Its advanced driver assistance system is known as Super Cruise, and it was first used on the Cadillac CT6 in 2017. A lot has improved since then, and GM has introduced it to other vehicles under its umbrella. We tried it on the 2021 Cadillac Escalade following some enhancements from GM and were impressed by how well it performed.

Besides allowing you to take your hands off the wheel, Super Cruise is designed to accelerate, brake, and stay in lane without the driver's input. It can also overtake and change lanes on a few models. However, one of the biggest limitations of GM's Super Cruise is that it's not available on all road networks across North America, as you have to be on a mapped divided highway for it to work. But GM has announced today that it's planning to expand the Super Cruise road network in the U.S. and Canada. 

In its press release, General Motors announced that it will double its current coverage of the Super Cruise road network from 200k miles to over 400k miles in North America. The upcoming expansion won't be limited to interstate highways like the current mapped system, but it will also cover undivided highway roads. Some of the significant routes that the mapped expansion will cover include U.S. Route 66, U.S. Route 1, California Route 1, and the Trans-Canada Highway.

GM says that the expanded Super Cruise road network will be used in 22 models under its umbrella by 2023. Some of those vehicles will include the GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Escalade, Cadillac CT5, Cadillac CT4, Chevrolet Silverado, and GMC Sierra. If your vehicle was built on GM's Vehicle Intelligence Platform (VIP), the Super Cruise software will be updated over the air for free. If, on the other hand, your vehicle comes with the Super Cruise software but it doesn't have the VIP electrical architecture, you could be required to visit a dealership for installation. According to GM, the new Super Cruise road network expansion will be rolled out "later this year."