Flying Cars Global Strategic Business Report 2024-2030 with Coverage of Major Players Such as AeroMobil, Airbus Group SE, Alef Aeronautics Among Others

The global market for Flying Cars was valued at an estimated US$109.8 Million in 2023 and is projected to reach US$939.3 Million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 35.9% from 2023 to 2030. This comprehensive report provides an in-depth analysis of market trends, drivers, and forecasts, helping you make informed business decisions.

Flying Cars Are Starting To Soar–Here Are The Big Names

The distance between science fiction and reality narrowed a bit at the 2023 North American International Detroit Auto Show, where Alef Aeronautics debuted its Model A prototype. The vehicle, touted as the first “flying car,” is 17 feet long and has an aerodynamic design. Its frame looks similar to a high-end sedan, with a tinted bubble top serving as the two-passenger cabin. The Model A has a carbon fiber mesh that conceals eight propellers which, when activated, allow the vehicle to take off vertically.

Alef didn’t demonstrate the Model A’s flight capabilities in Detroit, but the automaker did describe its abilities and specifications. According to Alef, the Model A is an electric vehicle that can fly for up to 200 miles or drive nearly 110 miles on a single charge.

What’s the Technology Behind Flying Cars?

While the term “flying car” is fun, it doesn’t really describe what these vehicles are. The true nomenclature is “eVTOL,” or electric vertical takeoff and landing. These models can be placed somewhere between an automobile and a helicopter, with much smaller footprints than traditional aircraft but the ability to fit several human passengers.

The first look at an eVTOL came from NASA in 2009, when the agency shared a video rendering of its Puffin aircraft concept. Since then, many startups and established companies have been eyeing the eVTOL space, bringing the flying car closer to reality than ever before.

There have been a few failures along the way, though. Vertical Aerospace’s VX4 suffered a crash in August 2023 when one of the propellers on an unmanned flight failed. Kittyhawk, once considered to be at the forefront of the flying car industry, drew up designs for several flying vehicles before closing its doors in September 2022. By and large, however, companies in the eVTOL space seem optimistic about introducing vehicles within the next decade.

What Are The Big Names For Flying Cars?

Major aviation companies such as Boeing and Airbus have been developing eVTOL models, though none have gotten fully off the ground. Instead, smaller startups like Joby, AeroMobil, and Volocopter have become the leaders in advancing eVTOL technology. Helijet, a helicopter operator in British Columbia, has already placed orders for flying vehicles from Vermont-based Beta Technologies. By some estimates, eVTOLs could start to become commonplace by 2025.

1. Joby Aviation

Joby is the U.S. company that seems closest to putting an eVTOL on the market. The company was founded in 2009 in Santa Cruz, California, and now has additional offices in San Carlos, California, Washington, D.C., and Munich. The company’s air taxi is designed to accommodate up to four passengers and one pilot at a time and can travel at speeds of up to 200 mph. A single battery charge allows the air taxi to travel distances of up to 150 miles.

In June 2023, Joby announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had granted the company a special airworthiness certificate for its first prototype. This certificate allows Joby to conduct test flights.

In a 2021 interview with The Washington Post, Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt said that a flying taxi ride would initially cost the same as an Uber or Lyft ride, which was about $3 per mile. The company’s goal is to eventually push the price point down to $1 per mile or less.

Joby’s Factory

Up until August 2023, Joby had planned to build its eVTOL factory in Marina, California, a small town in Monterey County. The company had been testing its craft there since 2018 but ultimately decided against situating its factory in the town. Instead, Joby looked for a more symbolic location for its factory that would tie into the history of aviation.

After scouting locations in Ohio and North Carolina, Joby settled on a facility in Dayton, Ohio. Orville and Wilbur Wright, the brothers who are considered the pioneers of modern aviation, were born and raised in Dayton. The Wright brothers opened the first airplane factory in the U.S. in Dayton and returned after successfully testing their glider in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.

Dayton is also home to the Air Force Research Laboratories, located at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The lab was a major partner with Joby as it developed the company’s first eVTOL.

Located at Dayton International Airport, Joby’s factory is set to open in 2025 and will be the first of its kind in the U.S. The company plans to invest up to $500 million into the facility and hopes to build at least 500 eVTOL air taxis per year.

2. Alef Aeronautics

Alef Aeronautics, the company that developed the Model A revealed at the Detroit Auto Show, got its start in 2015. Unlike the air taxis being developed by Joby, Alef envisions its flying car as a vehicle for personal use.

Founder and CEO Jim Dukhovny, along with three other engineers, first drew their idea for a flying car on a cafe napkin. They began by experimenting with small-scale models of what would become their eVTOL design, eventually testing a full-size prototype in 2019. The FAA granted Alef a special airworthiness certificate in June 2023, allowing the company to fly its Model A eVTOL prototype for testing and research purposes.

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Dukhovny asserts that the Model A will be able to take off vertically and turn into a biplane in midair, but acknowledges that the company faces some headwinds in development. In an interview with the BBC, Dukhovny admitted that “some of the components which we need simply do not exist in the world today,” making the Model A prohibitively expensive for most. While the price point for one is currently $300,000, the company hopes to reduce the price to $35,000 per unit over time.

After the Detroit Auto Show, Alef received almost 2,800 orders for the Model A. The company plans to begin production on these vehicles in either 2025 or early 2026.

3. AeroMobil

Founded in 2010, AeroMobil has enlisted designers whose resumes include automakers such as BMW and McLaren as well as aerospace leaders like Airbus and Lockheed Martin. The Slovakia-based company envisions two types of flying cars: a two-seater model and a four-seater model. The two-seater, like Alef’s Model A, would be a high-end luxury vehicle designed for one pilot and one passenger. The four-seater, which fits three passengers and a pilot, would primarily serve as what CEO Patrick Hessel calls an “Uber of the sky.”

Functionally, AeroMobil’s vehicles aren’t much different from most eVTOLs currently being proposed. However, instead of many small propellers, the AeroMobil vehicle has a rear propeller and wings, which makes it closer to a small airplane than a more dronelike eVTOL. The vehicles also have big wheels, allowing them to be driven on regular roads. These models are 20 feet long, though, making them difficult to navigate on city streets.

AeroMobil vehicles will have to be flown into and out of small airports, making implementation far less convenient than with vehicles that can take off vertically. According to testing that began in 2020, AeroMobil vehicles have a takeoff distance of 1,300 feet and can climb 1,200 feet per minute. They’re hybrid models, so they come with a combustion engine in addition to a battery and other electrical components. A two-seater from Aeromobil can drive up to 600 miles or fly up to 460 miles on a single charge.

Deliveries of AeroMobil vehicles were supposed to start in 2023, but it’s unclear if the company will meet that timeline.

What Will Flying Cars Mean For The Future?

Though eVTOL companies are excited about their timelines for manufacturing and winning FAA approval, the rapid rise of this technology leaves critics concerned about their potential impacts. Some experts believe that the state of the eVTOL industry is similar to that of driverless cars, with the technology developing faster than the world can prepare.

If flying cars become the preferred transit method of the future, governments and regulatory agencies will need to consider a new air traffic control system, the rise of autonomous eVTOLs, and how to address noise pollution caused by flying vehicles. The FAA and NASA will likely need to partner with each other or spin off a new agency altogether. Developing flying cars themselves is only one of the many challenges facing today’s eVTOL industry.

Safety Concerns

First and foremost, flying cars will need to be safe. Beyond making sure that the craft can simply stay in the air–which is the biggest concern currently facing most companies–tests must be conducted to ensure that passengers and their belongings can fit without affecting the eVTOL’s ability to function. The FAA has already begun to implement new training rules specifically for eVTOL pilots, but they’ll need to be updated as the technology becomes more common.

Infrastructure Concerns

If flying cars become more commonplace, infrastructure will need to adapt. Chiefly among infrastructure concerns is the construction of a network of  “vertiports,” vertical takeoff and landing facilities. Vertiports will need to be plentiful and accessible, meaning that most buildings will require helipads and flat swaths of land will need to be covered with tarmac.

Air travel corridors would also need to be created. These will have to be far enough off the ground to not interfere with buildings, power lines, and trees, but not high enough to stop the eVTOL from operating properly. It’s easy to imagine that private companies will purchase their own air corridors, either for shipping or passenger purposes. Thus, air rights are likely to become more of a hot-button issue as the technology evolves.

Insurance Concerns

How will eVTOLs be insured? As it stands now, flying cars coming to the market are extremely pricey, making them quite expensive to insure. Each state sets its own car insurance regulations, so it should be interesting to see how governments address the question. Auto insurance companies may create new branches specifically to insure eVTOLs. At the moment, it’s difficult to predict how eVTOL insurance and its availability will develop.

Inequality Concerns

Another topic to consider as eVTOLs move closer to reality is the effect that they’ll have on inequality. In an article for the liberal think tank Center for American Progress, Kevin DeGood asserts that flying cars are a threat to democracy, allowing the wealthy to “achieve a dual demand for hyperseclusion and hyperaccess.”

Flying cars, at least in the beginning stages, will only be accessible to those who can pay expensive rates for travel or shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy their own. If the government begins subsidizing projects for only the richest members of society, it could deepen America’s economic stratification. DeGood argues that as eVTOL technology continues to develop, it should instead be used to create better and more efficient public transportation.

eLeapPower integrates EV charging components to reduce costs for OEMs, fleets

A Toronto company is helping electric truck OEMs reduce the cost and complexity of battery systems, while also developing wireless charging ideal for fleet vehicles parked at docks or in crowded yards.

During a presentation to the House of Journalists in Munich, Germany, eLeapPower outlined its two main products: an integrated inverter system that can help medium-duty truck makers save more than $2,000 per vehicle; and an integrated wireless charging system that cuts typical wireless charger costs by about 30%.

Its integrated inverters allow power electronics components to perform multiple functions, rather than simply bundling various assemblies into the same enclosure, explained Jonathan Dooley, engineer and product manager with eLeapPower.

The integrated inverter’s 800-volt architecture is compatible with 400-volt auxiliary components, eliminating the need for cables, connectors and other components, reducing weight and complexity for electric truck makers. It uses the electric motor’s coils as a conductor.

The technology is being used by Chinese electric car company Chery, with a North American partner and commercial OEM evaluating the system.

“eLeapPower created a single power electronics assembly that can perform the function of the inverter, on-board charger, and 400V/800V conversion,” eLeapPower CEO Russell Pullan said in an accompanying release. “Initial pricing studies find direct savings for commercial Classes 4-6 medium-duty EV truck manufacturers to be over $2,000 per vehicle depending on the application, with weight and volume savings to be around 20-25 kg and 15-20 liters.”

The company is initially targeting commercial truck makers, since the total cost of ownership is more critical to commercial customers, even though the technology itself can also be adapted to electric cars.

“We don’t do motor or battery design,” explained Dooley. “The value we bring as a company is integrated power electronics.”

By integrating the inverter and on-board charger, Dooley added, “the impact to the OEM is fewer components on the vehicle, which means at a systems level less cabling and less software interfacing. It’s one manufacturing process removed from the production line, one less part on the warranty system. The big highlight is the direct cost savings.”

The integrated inverter becomes the “nucleus of the architecture,” eliminating two components and their related cables. In development work with Purolator, eLeapPower found its integrated inverter reduced vehicle weight by 21 kg and eliminated 17 liters of required volume, giving the fleet more cargo capacity.

The company is also targeting the commercial vehicle segment for its other product, offering more cost-effective wireless charging. Last-mile delivery vehicles can quickly take a charge wirelessly when positioned over a floor pad during loading or unloading.

Brent Fitch, director of business development, who runs a final-mile truck fleet, explained why that application is so well suited to wireless charging. “Trucks back up to the conveyer, drivers load packages into the trucks. When the trucks are all lined up, they’re close together with not a ton of space between them. Where do you put your plug-in charger? You can’t put them at the rear because it becomes a tripping hazard. The idea is, we put the floor pads at the rear of the vehicles.”

Wireless charging also takes up less space in a fleet yard. Trucks can be parked closer together over the floor pads to charge overnight. eLeapPower’s system reduces the cost of wireless charging by about 30%, again by combining components. The cost of wireless charging so far has been the biggest barrier to adoption, but the company feels commercial fleets will be the first to adopt the technology.

“We are talking to a lot of fleets right now to understand their use case. What is the value for you on the operational side? What price point does this have to be to make sense from a total cost of ownership perspective?” said Dooley. “Medium-duty customers move at a faster pace because they’re more cost-sensitive.”

“This also opens the door for easier retrofit solutions versus the current state that requires significant integration work by expensive specialists,” Pullan added in a press release. “Fleet operators will reduce vehicle downtime because charging at their depots will be more accessible either as a retrofit or OEM installation.”

eLeapPower has raised $36 million and has a headquarters and main engineering facility in Toronto, with a second office in China. Much of its engineering expertise has come from graduates of the University of Toronto.

LivToAir Releases a Flying Car for MSFS – Aeromobil 3.0

Take a drive…and then a flight… all in the same vehicle. Try out a new flying car from LivToAir.

Want something a bit different in your flight simulator this week? Then perhaps the LivToAir Aeromobil 3.0 is what you’re after. The new Flying Car product is now available for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

The Aeromobil 3.0 was originally designed and manufactured by Slovakian company Aeromobil and was first unveiled in 2014. It flew in October 2014 and was powered by a Rotax 912S engine, with a carbon fibre structure. However, its fate was sealed when it crashed in May 2015. But you can make sure it doesn’t happen in the simulator.

Developer LivToAir has developed the flying car with a foldable wing system, working circuit breakers and a high-quality 3D model. It works both on the ground and in the air as their respective vehicle types. You can see the video above to see it in action.

eLeapPower Readies Power Electronics and Wireless Charging Systems for Expanding Global Electric Vehicle Market

MUNICH, Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- eLeapPower, a Canadian growth-stage startup supporting the global growth of electric vehicles with innovative electric powertrain and charging solutions announced new technologies for the North American medium-duty electric commercial truck market that reduces complexity, cost, and weight and provides new methods of wireless charging.

eLeapPower's patented integrated inverter solution eliminates the need for onboard charging systems through functional integration where power electronics components perform multiple functions. This contrasts with typical co-packaged integration efforts where several functional assemblies just share the same enclosure.

The integrated inverter's 800V architecture is compatible with 400V auxiliary components and doesn't require expensive, supply-chain-limited 1200V SiC semiconductors. The system enables low-cost charging directly from renewable power sources and DC microgrids and offers fully integrated, bidirectional charging for both AC and DC. It also reduces the total number of cables, connectors, and other components to help lower cost, weight and complexity.

Currently, eLeapPower has a development contract with Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. to provide the automaker with an integrated inverter and is also in a development phase with a North American motor partner and commercial OEM.

"eLeapPower created a single power electronics assembly that can perform the function of the inverter, on-board charger, and 400V/800V conversion," said eLeapPower CEO Russell Pullan. "Initial pricing studies find direct savings for commercial Class 4-6 medium duty EV truck manufacturers to be over $2,000 per vehicle depending on the application, with weight and volume savings to be around 20-25kg and 15-20L."

Although the company is initially targeting commercial vehicles because the total cost of ownership is a critical buying decision for fleet owners, the technology also applies to passenger cars. Designed to be cost-effective and scalable, eLeapPower's integrated inverter can use components readily available in the existing supply chain, enabling EV manufacturers to simplify their propulsion system and significantly reduce weight, maximize space, and save production costs.

eLeapPower applied its solutions to create a wireless charging system with special appeal to the North American and European last-mile delivery market, where depot space restrictions and working areas can make it challenging to integrate plug-in chargers as part of the workflow. By integrating wireless charging vehicle assemblies with existing power electronics units, the company anticipates fleet owners can save 30% of the on-vehicle cost related to wireless charging.

"This also opens the door for easier retrofit solutions versus the current state that requires significant integration work by expensive specialists," Pullan added. "Fleet operators will reduce vehicle downtime because charging at their depots will be more accessible either as a retrofit or OEM installation."

In addition to its business pursuits in North America, eLeapPower is Chery's strategic technology partner for innovative power electronics solutions and is developing configurations to meet the specific demands of China's fast-growing EV sector.

About eLeapPower

eLeapPower is a Canadian growth-stage technology company supporting the global growth of electric vehicles with innovative electric powertrain and charging solutions. It has developed a suite of technologies to provide advantages for driving and charging performance inside and outside of the vehicle. eLeapPower works closely with research institutes, utilities, logistics companies and Tier 1 automotive parts suppliers to electrify commercial fleets and passenger vehicles. These initiatives will enable the company to establish its brand and add technologies to its integrated inverter platform, leading to new strategic partnerships within the automotive sector. eLeapPower is helping advance a low-carbon economy by making electrified vehicles more accessible and accelerating their commercial use. For more information visit www.eLeapPower.com.