Future of Aviation

What's more fancy than a Porsche? A flying Porsche. Luxury

automakers race to perfect the flying car

Once upon a time, flying cars were a staple of science fiction and yet here we are, in the
November 2019 once dreamed of in the 1982 movie "Blade Runner," and we're still not
whizzing above neon-lit cityscapes in futuristic contraptions. However, the long-
expected travel convergence between automobile and aircraft may finally be about to unfold.
This is a pivotal time for the auto industry, with new automation and electrification
technologies threatening to disrupt a century-old business model. It's not surprising, then, that
some of the major names in the automobile industry have set their eyes on the nascent field of
personal air mobility. Firms such as Porsche, Daimler and Toyota are behind some of the
most daring startups in the nascent eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft)
industry, that aims to revolutionize urban transportation by taking to the air.

Electric vertical takeoff and landing

According to this vision, we will move around cities in fleets of electrically powered,
lightweight air vehicles capable of vertical takeoff and landing that can be summoned at the
click of an app. These vehicles will be as ubiquitous in the urban landscape of tomorrow as
their ground-based equivalents are today. Sounds far-fetched? Some cities, such as Dubai,
have already been testing the concept in a limited way. The emirate is drawing up plans for
an eVTOL roll out. For automakers, the emergence of new mobility technologies is, at the
same time, a threat diverting journeys from their core ground transportation business and an
opportunity to redefine themselves as mobility providers in a broader sense.
Joby Aviation

Not to be outdone, Japanese automaker Toyota is also getting into air mobility through its
venture capital arm. Toyota AI Ventures is an investor in California-based Joby Aviation,
which proposes a manned eVTOL electric aircraft able to carry five passengers 150 miles
(240 kilometers) on one charge. In its product pitch, Joby highlights the speed and quietness
of its vehicle compared to other alternatives. The startup is still in stealth mode, but has
already received some $130 million in venture funding. Its backers include some prominent
Silicon Valley investors and JetBlue Technology Ventures, the venture capital arm of the
airline of the same name.
Jim Adler, Toyota AI Ventures' founding managing director, told CNN Travel, "One of the
areas we've been exploring is technologies that fundamentally change the way people move
around -- on land, at sea or in the air. Joby Aviation's vision of delivering safe, affordable,
and accessible air-transportation-as-a-service fits squarely in Toyota AI Ventures' view of the
future of transportation: one that is highly networked, increasingly automated, multi-modal
and widely available." Bonny Simi, president at JetBlue Technology Ventures, tells CNN
Travel that the nascent eVTOL industry combines expertise from both the automaking and
aerospace worlds. On the one hand there is the potentially high-volume production of
relatively small vehicles, and on the other there is all the avionics technology involved. Then
there's a key element that's also very relevant to the future of the auto industry:
batteries."Why are we seeing all these movements in the eVTOL market just now? Mainly
because of advances in battery technology," says Simi. "The current electrically powered
designs can deliver on all three main advantages of the eVTOL concept: safety, noise and
cost."

Aston Martin and Porsche

Across the Atlantic, the UK's Cranfield University has partnered with high-end car maker
Aston Martin -- James Bond's vehicle of choice -- and aero engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce
in order to develop a luxurious autonomous-hybrid eVTOL concept called Volante Vision
Concept. Rolls-Royce unveiled its own eVTOL concept in 2018, which it hopes to launch to
market in the early 2020s. It features a tilt wing and six propellers, including four that would
fold into the wings at cruising altitude. Porsche is another car maker to have allied itself with
a big aviation player. The German luxury car maker has partnered with Boeing (through two
of its innovation and research subsidiaries, Boeing NeXt and Aurora Flight Services) in order
to develop its own "flying car" prototype. The project is still in its early stages, but the early
renderings that have been released so far have an exciting Batman-esque vibe.

The Decades Ahead

If you're worried about passenger-carrying drones buzzing over your head every which way,
there's no need to panic just yet. According to the same study, while the first air taxis might
start to provide regular service as soon as 2025, during the initial years it would mostly
involve simple transfers between airports and the centers of large metropolises. Even by the
year 2035, when the industry is expected to have consolidated, most of the action will be
between pre-established hubs that will provide connectivity to other, more traditional, modes
of transportation.

In short, the advent of the flying car seems almost inevitable. The big question is whether the
big players in this revolution will be the same firms that dominate the car market today.

Source: Miquel Ros, CNN • Updated 28th November 2019

Reading Questions

1. How does Japanese automaker Toyota view the future of transportation?

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2. How does car company, Aston Martin try to be competitive in the flying car market?

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3. According to the article, how does the flying car’s impact on the early years when it is
made available as a transportation?

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4. Why do firms such as Porsche, Daimler and Toyota wants to be involved in the flying
car industry?

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5. How competitive the flying car market will be in the future?

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