Volkswagen is exploring flying vehicles in China
CNN Business
by Hanna Ziady, CNN Business
Tue February 9, 2021
Volkswagen (VLKAF) is looking into flying vehicles in China, becoming the latest automaker to probe the possibilities of personal air travel.
Europe's largest automaker said in a statement on Tuesday that "vertical mobility" could be the next step after self-driving technology. "Therefore we are investigating potential concepts and partners in a feasibility study [in China] to identify the possibility to industrialize this approach," it added.
China is the world's largest autos market and is also Volkswagen's single biggest customer. The news comes as the German carmaker makes a big push into electric cars. It delivered more than three times the volume of battery electric vehicles last year than it did in 2019, while plug-in hybrid deliveries surged 175% to 190,500 units.
But "vertical mobility" throws up many more hurdles than electric mobility, including safety and reliability. Flying vehicles would need to operate in crowded airspace, near small drones and traditional airplanes, and would also need a regulatory framework, which could take years.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/09/business/volkswagen-flying-vehicles/index.html