The San Francisco Giants this week said goodbye to a uniform patch that touted Cruise and its robotaxi — the latest result for GM’s self-driving subsidiary and its controversial presence in the city.
The marketing partnership, which was announced in August 2023, will continue, but under another GM brand. For the 2024 baseball season, the SF Giants uniforms will feature the Chevrolet logo with the “EV” in bold orange tones. Chevrolet’s portfolio of all-electric vehicles includes the Chevy Blazer EV, the upcoming Equinox and the Chevy Silverado EV. The automaker recently stopped production of the Chevy Bolt and Chevy Bolt EUV and halted sales of the Chevy Blazer EV due to a software issue affecting the infotainment system.
The single-patch change comes several months after San Francisco-based Cruise lost its commercial license to operate robotaxi in the city following an incident in October that left a pedestrian pinned under one of its self-driving cars. In the months since, Cruise co-founder and CEO Kyle Vogt resigned, 24 percent of its staff was laid off, the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission opened investigations, and GM tried to get the company back on track with new leadership. .
“As the 2024 baseball season approaches, Cruise is transferring its marketing partnership with the Giants, including rights as an official patch partner, to Chevrolet – keeping it in the GM family,” an emailed statement from a spokesperson said Cruise. “In line with our mission to provide safe, reliable, accessible transportation, Cruise remains invested in its joint commitment with the Giants to deploy hundreds of electric vehicle chargers in parking lots for guests and the public.”
A spokesperson for the San Francisco Giants said it was a “natural transition that had to happen and was decided by all parties.” When asked if Cruz would return to the uniform patch in 2025, the rep said “we don’t know at this time.”
“It’s also a good opportunity for Chevrolet, as it has a long history of supporting MLB as the official automotive sponsor of MLB and a sponsor of 14 teams over the past 20 years,” said the San Francisco Giants spokesman.
As part of the original deal, Cruise had agreed to install more than 100 electric vehicle chargers in Oracle Park’s parking facilities.
As TechCrunch noted last June, selling advertising space on the uniforms worn by professional athletes is a common practice in some sports. But it’s a newer phenomenon in Major League Baseball. At the start of the 2023 season seven of the major league’s 30 teams were selling sponsorships, including the San Francisco Giants.
