General Motors Is Cutting Its Development Cycles in Half
IEEE Spectrum AI Lawrence Ulrich
General Motors is cutting vehicle development cycles in half by deploying AI and simulation tools that enable engineers to test designs virtually before building physical prototypes. The GMC Hummer EQ achieved a two-year development timeline versus the typical four-to-five-year cycle, with crash simulations reduced from 15 hours of computing to under one minute using AI-based probability methods. This acceleration allows GM to compete with Chinese automakers like BYD while producing more thoroughly tested vehicles with fewer design iterations.
Why it matters
For decades, automakers enjoyed a luxury that had nothing to do with the softest leather or the smoothest engines. Their luxury was time, with some popular cars and trucks enduring for a decade or longer before they received a full redesign. The clock is ticking faster now, thanks to China. BYD and other automakers there are speeding electric vehicles (EVs) and other models from drawing board to showrooms in two years or less. General Motors is among the Western automakers striving to match that blistering pace, by harnessing AI and simulation to dramatically shorten development times. GM’s effort is being spearheaded by Sterling Anderson, the technologist and robotics guru who led development teams for Tesla’s Autopilot and the Model X before cofounding Aurora Innovation, the autonomous trucking company. GM lured Anderson last June as its chief product officer, offering a US $40 million package to guide the development of the automaker’s cars, autonomous models, batteries, software, a
