- General Motors announced $5.4 billion in revenue from OnStar and Super Cruise in 2025.
- The Detroit automaker ended 2025 with more than 620,000 Super Cruise subscribers, an 80% increase from 2024.
- At the same time, Super Cruise only drove about $234 million in revenue by the end of 2025.
General Motors’ headline to investors today is that it weathered uneven electric-vehicle demand, regulatory whiplash, and a challenging tariff environment better than most automakers did in 2025. But one of its bigger wins from last year didn’t come from selling cars.
Ahead of its fourth-quarter and 2025 annual earnings call today, GM announced that its software and subscription business is quickly gaining steam. The automaker said that last year, it recorded $5.4 billion in deferred revenue (meaning unearned revenue over time, through a recurring service) from its various OnStar-related connected services. These include various safety systems, in-car WiFi, access to audio streaming apps and more. GM is projecting deferred revenue from software to rise to $7.5 billion in 2026.
MyCadillac smartphone app
Photo by: General Motors
The bigger news, however, may be the user growth of Super Cruise, GM’s hands-free highway automated driving assistance system (ADAS). GM says it ended 2025 with more than 620,000 Super Cruise subscribers, up 80% from the previous year. Super Cruise allows a driver to take their hands off the wheel while they monitor the road on more than 750,000 miles of mapped roads in the U.S. and Canada. By 2028, GM aims to take the technology “eyes-off” as well, starting with the lidar-equipped Cadillac Escalade IQ.
GM also said that it’s driving revenue through Super Cruise in used vehicle purchaes, an area where automakers typically don’t make money, aside from parts for repairs.
2024 Chevy Silverado EV RST Super Cruise
Photo by: Chevrolet
At the same time, Super Cruise generated $234 million in revenue in 2025. While GM said that number is expected to rise to “almost $400 million” in 2026, it’s a long way to go to recoup the presumably copious investments in autonomous technology, including its now-scrapped Cruise robotaxi service.
But for GM’s balance sheet, the subscription and Super Cruise revenue shows progress toward what nearly every automaker now wants: making money beyond just selling cars one at a time. The global auto industry is chasing tech company-like valuations and seeking recurring revenue through subscriptions and software.
In many instances, however, customers have balked at paying subscription fees for features that were once included upfront with their car purchase. BMW drew considerable ire from its drivers several years ago after charging a subscription fee for heated seats in some markets, leading it to quickly backtrack.
GM’s decision not to use Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in its EVs—and over time, in its gas-powered cars too—has proven extremely controversial. In place of the popular smartphone mirroring systems, GM’s EV proprieatry software uses various third-party apps like Spotify and Apple Music, but various features still require a paid subscription.
This is a breaking news post. It will be updated.
