GM’s Mary Barra pushes back against autonomous vehicles doubters

General Motors (NYSE:) CEO Mary Barra spoke at a Sanford Bernstein conference Friday where she doubled down on her confidence that the company will experience significant growth opportunities in the autonomous vehicle industry over the next decade.

Barra restated her prediction that Cruise could generate $50 billion a year in annual revenue by 2030. She explained that this ambitious target hinges on Cruise’s expansion into international markets like Dubai and Japan, as well as branching out into goods delivery and personal self-driving cars.

The automaker is currently losing money on Cruise at the rate of $2 billion a year. As losses continued to mount, competitors such as Ford Motor Co (NYSE:) and Volkswagen AG (OTC:) have decided to abandon their autonomous vehicle ventures.

This year, Cruise has expanded its presence beyond San Francisco and ventured into cities in Arizona and Texas. According to Barra, these states offer a regulatory environment that is more favorable for self-driving vehicles. However, GM is encountering regulatory challenges in Washington, where it has been grappling for over six years to obtain approval for the launch of extensive fleets of purpose-built self-driving vehicles.

Barra also said GM had moved too slowly to launch electric vehicles in China. She said Chevrolet and Cadillac EVs launching in China over the next 18 months will be critical in rebuilding market share.

Shares of GM are up 3.88% in afternoon trading on Friday.