Volkswagen is conducting feasibility studies on flying cars in China
February 10, 2021
The iconic film Back to the Future II predicted that by 2020, people the world over would be using flying cars as a primary mode of transport. Unfortunately, this dream has not exactly become a reality yet, although Volkswagen is the latest brand trying to make it happen.
Europe’s biggest automaker announced on Tuesday, February 9 that it is currently conducting a feasibility study on flying cars in China.
“Beyond autonomous driving, the concept of vertical mobility could be a next step to take our mobility approach into the future, especially in the technically affine Chinese market,” the German group said in a statement. “Therefore we are investigating potential concepts and partners in a feasibility study to identify the possibility to industrialise this approach.”
Speaking in an interview on LinkedIn, Volkswagen China head Stephan Woellenstein told the carmaker’s CEO Herbert Diess that they want to develop a licensable drone that could participate in the future market for individual mobility “that’s taking place up in the air and not down on the streets.”
Volkswagen is not the first or only company to explore the flying car frontier. From Hyundai and Toyota to Porsche and Uber, it seems everyone is working hard to cross the finish line first.
Flying cars are a regulatory nightmare, raising issues of electric mobility, safety and reliability, and the concern of crowded airspace.
Picture: Unsplash
