(Reuters) - General Motors' (GM) self-driving unit Cruise said on Thursday it will begin supervised testing with up to five autonomous vehicles in fall this year in California's Bay Area.

Cruise will deploy several manual mapping vehicles in Sunnyvale and Mountain View, following which the testing will start, it said in a post on social media platform X.

The company resumed operations in the United States with a small fleet of human-driven vehicles in Arizona in April, about six months after the self-driving car unit paused operations following an incident in San Francisco.

Cruise had suspended operations last October after a pedestrian in San Francisco hit by another car was dragged by one of its robotaxis.

"Resuming testing in the Bay Area is an important step forward as we continue to work closely with California regulators and local stakeholders," Cruise said.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles issued draft regulations on the operation of autonomous vehicles on highways in August, paving the way for self-driving trucks to commence long-haul deliveries.

(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)