July 23 (Reuters) - General Motors' ( GM ) Cruise

self-driving unit will focus its development efforts on a

next-generation Chevrolet Bolt as it indefinitely delays its

planned Origin vehicle that would not have a steering wheel, the

automaker said on Tuesday.

In 2022, GM filed a petition with the National Highway

Traffic Safety Administration seeking permission to deploy up to

2,500 self-driving Origin vehicles annually without human

controls such as brake pedals or mirrors. The agency has not

acted on the request.

GM will instead use a conventional next-generation Bolt EV

as the platform for its Cruise robotaxi, a move that will not

require permission of U.S. regulators.

"I do think in the future there's going to be

opportunity for Origin - and so that remains open to us at the

right time," GM CEO Mary Barra said.

GM in November said it had temporarily halted production of

its fully autonomous Cruise Origin, which has subway-like doors

and campfire seating.

GM said its decision to pause Cruise production at a Detroit

plant had triggered a charge of $583 million.

"The main reason with switching from the Origin to the Bolt

is we extinguish the regulatory risk," Barra said.

Cruise faces a number of investigations - including by

NHTSA, the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange

Commission - after an October accident in which one of its

robotaxis struck a pedestrian and dragged her 20 feet (six

meters). Cruise and GM came under heavy criticism after the

accident and California revoked its permit to operate driverless

vehicles.

Kyle Vogt, who co-founded Cruise and quit as CEO in November

under pressure following the accident, wrote on X Tuesday that

GM had killed the Origin.

"GM repeatedly finds themselves with a 5-10 year

headstart, but then fumbles the ball, shuts things down, and

loses the lead," Vogt wrote,

comparing it to GM's early lead

on electric vehicles in the 1990s that it lost.

Barra noted on Tuesday that Cruise in recent months had

resumed testing of its robotaxis with human safety drivers in

three cities and recently hired a new CEO.

Barra previously said the business could generate $50

billion in annual revenue by 2030. Cruise has lost more than $8

billion since 2017 and in January GM said it was cutting

spending at Cruise by about $1 billion.