In an effort to pursue the shared goal of “transforming mobility through the large-scale deployment of autonomous vehicle technology,” Cruise and General Motors Co. are partnering with Honda.

Honda will work collaboratively with Cruise and General Motors to fund and develop a “purpose-built autonomous vehicle” for Cruise that can be used for a variety of purposes, and be manufactured at high volume for global deployment.

The companies will also examine global opportunities for commercial deployment of the Cruise network.

“This is the logical next step in General Motors and Honda’s relationship, given our joint work on electric vehicles, and our close integration with Cruise,” explains General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra.

“Together, we can provide Cruise with the world’s best design, engineering and manufacturing expertise, and global reach to establish them as the leader in autonomous vehicle technology – while they move to deploy self-driving vehicles at scale.”

Over 12 years, Honda will contribute approximately $2 billion to these initiatives, bringing its total commitment to the project to $2.75 billion with the inclusion of a $750 million equity investment in Cruise. 

In addition to recently announced investments from SoftBank, this transaction brings Cruise’s post-money valuation to $14.6 billion.

“Honda chose to collaborate with Cruise and General Motors based on their leadership in autonomous and electric vehicle technology and our shared vision of a zero-emissions and zero-collision world,” says Honda Executive Vice President and Representative Director COO Seiji Kuraishi.

“We will complement their strengths through our expertise in space efficiency and design to develop the most desirable and effective shared autonomous vehicle.”