Dan Ammann, General Motors president, has resigned from his role to become chief executive for the automaker's Cruise autonomous vehicle unit. He will take on the new role on Jan. 1.

The move signals GM's push to develop a commercially viable self-driving ride-hailing fleet in 2019.

Ammann spearheaded GM's acquisition of Cruise Automation in 2016 and oversaw the relationship with it as part of his global responsibilities. Kyle Vogt, Cruise co-founder, will partner with Ammann to set strategic direction for the company. Vogt is the president and chief technology officer.

Cruise, which is based in San Francisco, has expanded from 40 to 1,000 employees and opened a Seattle office with more than 100 employees. The company's valuation is estimated at $14.6 billion, following investments from Honda and SoftBank.

"I'm excited to dedicate 100% of my time and energy to helping Kyle and the entire team realize our mission of deploying this technology at scale," Ammann said.

Following the move, GM Financial and GM global regions will report to CEO Mary Barra.