Boeing, Porsche, and Aurora Flight Sciences, a subsidiary
of Boeing, are currently developing “a concept for a fully electric
vertical takeoff and landing vehicle.”
In plain English: we might soon see an electric flying
taxi!
The U.S. aircraft giant Boeing and iconic German sports
car company Porsche announced the partnership yesterday, which is
aimed at exploring “the premium urban air mobility market and the
extension of urban traffic into airspace.”
RELATED: 11 REAL WORLD FLYING CAR
PROJECTS[1]
Premium urban mobility
“Porsche and Boeing together bring precision engineering,
style, and innovation to accelerate urban air mobility worldwide,”
said Steve Nordlund, Vice President and General Manager Boeing
NeXt in a press statement[2].
According to a 2018 study by Porsche Consulting, the urban air
mobility market will likely boom after 2025. Companies including
Larry Page-backed Kitty Hawk[3]
and Skai[4], who are creating a
safe, electric drone-like passenger vehicle, make it a competitive space[5].
The study also suggests that urban air taxi solutions will be a
quicker, more efficient, and affordable method of public
transport.
In their announcement, Boeing and Porsche do highlight their
focus is on “premium mobility,” which suggests that they will
release a high-cost option before scaling the technology and
lowering manufacturing costs.
An electric future
Porsche’s parent company, Volkswagen AG,
recently announced a major investment[6] in the production of
electric vehicles.
It is putting $40 billion into the development of cleaner
technologies and has set a target of manufacturing 22 million
electric cars across its brands over the next ten
years.
Boeing unveiled a prototype of an autonomous
fully-electric flying car earlier this year.
As CNN[7]
reports, Boeing’s revenue topped $100 billion[8] for the first time
in 2018. However, its sales this year will be vastly lower due to
the grounding of its best selling commercial jet, the 737 Max[9]. Sales of the aircraft
have been stagnant since two fatal accidents killed 346
people.
Several allegations[10] have come out about
mismanagement by the aircraft company, leading up to the
accidents.
References
- ^
RELATED:
11 REAL WORLD FLYING CAR PROJECTS
(interestingengineering.com) - ^
press statement
(newsroom.porsche.com) - ^
Kitty
Hawk (interestingengineering.com) - ^
Skai
(interestingengineering.com) - ^
a
competitive space
(interestingengineering.com) - ^
announced a major investment
(interestingengineering.com) - ^
CNN
(www.cnn.com) - ^
$100 billion
(www.cnn.com) - ^
the 737
Max (interestingengineering.com) - ^
Several allegations
(interestingengineering.com)