GM aims to develop vehicles in as little as two years with AI, software push

NEW YORK — General Motors plans to lean into artificial intelligence and vehicle software for future growth and development amid increasing competition abroad from Chinese automakers and a tougher U.S. market.

The Detroit automaker on Wednesday shared new details about a proprietary AI agent it's releasing under its OnStar brand, plans for a fourth generation of more efficient all-electric vehicles and a target to cut its vehicle development time in half.

GM also reconfirmed that by 2028, it wants to have eyes-off highway driving, or "personal autonomy," that will let drivers take their attention off the road. The automaker said that technology would start with the Cadillac Escalade IQ EV before rolling out to other, more high-volume models.

"All of these developments are building us the car of the future," CEO Mary Barra said Wednesday during an event laying out the plans, called "GM Forward," in downtown Manhattan.

The initiatives, which Barra, Chief Product Officer Sterling Anderson and other executives discussed at the event, are designed to streamline the automaker's operations, while also improving the capabilities of its vehicles for customers.

"Over the last 12 months, we've evolved how we design, engineer and build our vehicles," said Anderson, who led the event and who has been tasked with overseeing GM's latest technology transformation.

GM said it is now targeting a vehicle development time of roughly two years from concept to production versus a traditional four- to five-year cycle. However, the company did not detail a timeline for reaching that goal.

The event comes as Chinese automakers are growing outside of the U.S. with rapid development times of new technologies and vehicles. Consulting firm AlixPartners said it believes China is currently bringing vehicles to market twice as fast as traditional automakers, with 40% to 50% less investment and a 30% cost advantage.

GM also continues to play catch-up to U.S. EV leader Tesla when it comes to delivering technology advancements through over-the-air updates and automated driving capabilities.

Anderson, a former Tesla executive, declined to speak specifically about how GM's technologies will compare to the EV maker, but said GM's systems will be able to visualize, or see, more things through the use of multiple types of sensors than a strictly camera-based system, which Tesla uses.

He also said the rapid development and new software architecture will help the company better compete against Chinese automakers abroad.

"There's inherent virtue to speed," Anderson told CNBC during an interview after the event. "Not just in being able to get a car out faster, it's being able to develop a system that's far more performant that you could have otherwise."