Taking a taxi in the future could mean flying, bypassing traffic jams and traffic signs. The point is that traveling from city A to city B could be super fast and easy.
Supernal, an aircraft manufacturer backed by global automotive giant Hyundai Motor Group, says its new electric passenger vehicle concept will revolutionize future air travel.
Dubbed “e-taxis,” the idea is that these aircraft will be able to get city passengers to their destinations more quickly, without having to navigate the inevitable long queues of highway traffic.
David McBride, Chief Technology Officer at Supernal, said, “The goal is to change the way people travel. It’s an electric aircraft that has a range of about 60 miles, and flies at about 120 miles per hour.”
This fully electric aircraft has rotors that allow for vertical takeoff without the need for a runway.
The company also intends to create flights that do not require the presence of a pilot if the infrastructure is available.
While to some the concept may seem far-fetched, the company's boss says its partnership with Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) will allow production to be pushed to a mass industrial scale.
Jaiwon Shin, president of Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) and CEO of Supernal, said, “We believe that we not only have the great industrial strength that Hyundai Motor Group offers, but we can also revolutionize the world of aviation through HMG’s extensive capabilities. We are trying to make it happen so that it doesn’t just exist in science fiction movies.”
The electric aircraft rival (EV-TOL) Supernal is an all-electric aircraft manufactured by German company Lilium.
Lilium's EV-TOL is an aircraft that can take off and land vertically, but uses a propeller as a drive instead of a rotor.
Klaus Roewe, CEO of Lilium, said, “This aircraft can carry six people 175 km at a speed of 250 km per hour, and the operating costs are very low. You can offer a ticket price per kilometer of less than $2.”
The two EV-TOL aircraft are among a handful of other aircraft on display at the 2024 Farnborough International Airshow — one of the world's largest aviation trade shows and attracting delegates, traders and enthusiasts from around the world.
Aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia says the realistic possibility of seeing these planes in the skies more frequently is still very remote.
“They're very popular from a design standpoint, from a concept standpoint, but in terms of mass-producing them, that's still years away, if ever. So, it's one of those things that people like to talk about, but there's not a lot of commercial activity associated with it.” (ab/uh)
