It’s a bird, it’s a plane… No, it’s a flying car!

Sascha: [00:00:02] Welcome to The Dive, the podcast that asks, Who said that business news needs to be all business in the world of the 1980s? Blade Runner, The skies of an imagined 2019 Los Angeles were filled with skimmers, futuristic flying cars, zipping along aerial highways. Fast forward to today. While technology has taken unexpected leaps, selfie sticks, murder, drones, catchy feet. The idea of hovercraft taxis remained a distant fantasy, confined to science fiction novels and theme park attractions. But that's changing. It's Wednesday, the 16th of August, and today I want to know, well, when do I get to sit in a flying car? To talk about this today, I'm joined by my colleague here at Equity Mates. It's Simon Harvey. Simon, welcome to the Dive. 

Simon: [00:00:55] Hey, Sasha, how are you today? 

Sascha: [00:00:56] I'm very excited about hearing about the potential of flying cos I don't even have a car. So this is like a couple of steps away from my current situation.

Simon: [00:01:07] Yeah. Looking for this one today. Recently we talked about space travel, but we're back in our own atmosphere today. But an exciting topic to get into.

Sascha: [00:01:16] Yeah, exactly. Here's a sentence I never thought I'd say. We're talking about this story today because there's not just one story about flying cars in the news. There's several. We've got multiple companies getting regulatory approval. That's a big deal to start testing their flying cars. And we've got the world's first flying taxi service slated to kick off in 2024. If you're like me and you forget your dates, that's next year. That's supersonic. 

Simon: [00:01:47] That's right, Sasha. Just a few years ago, flying cars seemed firmly in the realm of sci-fi, but investment has skyrocketed, and now several companies are building air taxis to make our city journeys faster, easier and cleaner. Investment in this area, which is being called advanced aerial mobility, has more than tripled in the last year alone. And analysts at Morgan Stanley expect this global air taxi market to be worth $3.7 trillion. Yes, trillion dollars by 2050.

Sascha: [00:02:21] That's a lot of money, considering it doesn't really exist yet. And that investment in the air mobility sector has seen a number of companies emerge. Two companies have recently got a special airworthy certification. That is a mouthful. SIMON Let's take them one by one. Tell me first about Joe. Be Aviation. Got to say at first glance, love the name. I see something that I didn't think was possible three years ago. I see something that's a really beautiful system that's truly unique. 

Speaker 3: [00:02:54] Something that's never been done before.

Simon: [00:02:58] So, Joby, aviation is trying to build that Uber for the sky. So they're a California based company. They're building quiet all electric aircraft. They've actually got a team of more than 1400 engineers and experts working on this to bring aero ride sharing to our skies. Some of the details here on the air taxis, they're going to be flown by pilots, but they'll be able to carry for other passengers, be able to fly as fast as 200 miles per hour or 320 kilometres per hour. And they expected to go around 100 miles or 160 kilometres before electric batteries will need to be recharged. 

Sascha: [00:03:36] So, Simon, first thing I think of is they're only going to be flying for about half an hour if they're at full speed before they need to be recharged. 

Simon: [00:03:44] That's right. They're expecting these to be for short distances. So by 2025, Joby hopes to start actually carrying passengers for money. And they've teamed up with Delta Airlines to create a programme to fly people from their homes to the airport, expected to start first in New York and then L.A. But their long term vision is to build a global ride sharing passenger service in the air. So Uber in the air, just like you might use an app to order a car to pick you up, you could use an app to order an air taxi. 

Sascha: [00:04:16] In 2020, the company acquired Uber Elevate Uber's air taxi division, along with a $75 million investment. 

Audio Clip: [00:04:23] That team Is providing all of the technology. To deliver on the multimodal experience. 

Sascha: [00:04:30] Well, Simon, all I can say is that from a city that doesn't even have a train to the airport yet in Melbourne, I would definitely welcome a faster way to the airport than the Skybus. But let's move on to the second company. Tell me about Alef Aeronautics. 

Simon: [00:04:48] So Alef Aeronautics are building a car that will both drive and fly.

Sascha: [00:04:52] That's really cool. 

Simon: [00:04:54] Yes. So imagine walking into a car dealership and actually picking out a. Flying electric car. It does seem like something from a sci fi script, but is actually getting closer to becoming a reality. Aleph is designing and developing the world's first real flying car. It's designed to drive on the street and then take off vertically when needed so you can fly overhead above the traffic. And Olaf says they're building the solution to the issues of modern congestion. 

Sascha: [00:05:24] But if everyone just has an A-list car and then takes up into the sky. Aren't you just moving the congestion? Yeah. 

Simon: [00:05:32] That's what I thought when I first read this. But yeah, to be say on that one. Yeah. But the latest news with Alef, as you mentioned in the intro, is in June this year, the Federal Aviation Administration or the FAA issued a special airworthiness certificate to Alef for their flying car model, which basically means they'll be able to fly that car in limited locations for exhibition research and development. And after disapproval, Alef started to secure pre-orders, so announced in July this year that they've now got pre-orders of two and a half thousand and at a price tag of around $300,000. This will actually represent $750 million worth of revenue once delivered. 

Audio Clip: [00:06:17] It's maybe a very small step for a plane. It's a giant step for cars. 

Sascha: [00:06:24] Wow. Well, Simon honoured Have a spare 300,000 to be throwing around. But I can definitely understand the temptation of wanting to be the first in line to get a flying car. But crucially, they're not the only two companies working on this either, are they? 

Simon: [00:06:38] They certainly are not. So Japanese car maker Suzuki, They've announced they're starting to develop a flying car prototype, and they have reached an agreement with a company called SkyDrive to make an electric vehicle, takeoff and landing aircraft. 

Audio Clip: [00:06:53] This is a prototype elite, all from Japanese Start-Up SkyDrive, making its first public flight back in 2020. During the demonstration, the pilot flies the prototype about six feet above the ground and hovered for about 4 minutes.

Simon: [00:07:07] There were so many other familiar names exploring building air taxis, including Boeing, Airbus I and II. Meanwhile, British firm Vertical claims to have the highest number of conditional pre-orders with the likes of Virgin Atlantic and American Airlines. Among the investors lining up for their VA X4 vehicle. The Brazilian Planemaker embraces a new factory will be built near Sao Paulo to produce electric flying taxis, which they hope will take to the skies in 2026. So there's a lot going on in this space, that's for sure. 

Sascha: [00:07:38] Yeah, a surprising amount, Simon. Look, these are the companies building and testing flying cars, but we're actually seeing the first flying taxi service prepare to take off on well and truly intended next year. So I want to turn to that. And then also I want to nail down this and set the logistics on how on earth all of this is going to work. Let's talk about that after the break. Welcome back to the dive. Before the break, we talked about the number of companies that are getting regulatory approval for their flying cars. Most of those mainly based in America. But while American regulators are approving these developments, it's actually France where the action is. Simon, what's happening at a 2024 Paris Olympics? 

Simon: [00:08:43] Athletes are getting in shape for the Paris Olympic Games next year, and so is the world's first electric air taxi network. Wow. Paris is planning for a small fleet of electric flying taxis to operate multiple routes when it hosts the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games next summer. They're going to be using the existing helicopter route network to use their vehicles known as Volvo City Air Taxis, to fly one passenger and one pilot at a time along two different routes. 

Sascha: [00:09:11] One passenger to one pilot. These must be pretty important people getting to be taxied around, Simon. 

Simon: [00:09:17] Yes, not exactly mass market. Yes. But it's a first. 

Sascha: [00:09:22] Yeah. It's not like I'm getting to my 30. For it to go to the soccer obviously have to be pretty important. So what company is running this service? 

Simon: [00:09:32] So the company behind the air taxis is a German company called Volocopter. 

Sascha: [00:09:36] Sounds like something out of the Terminator. It doesn't. 

Simon: [00:09:39] It does. It's back into the sci fi realm. They were founded back in 2011, and since then they've completed over 1500 flight tests. 2017 actually flew the world's first autonomous air taxi over to buy, and they've since tested crewed flights in Singapore. And in 2021, they actually committed to launching an air taxi service in Singapore in the future. On their website, they state that urban air mobility is our solution to the problems faced as a direct result of the high influx of people into megacities across the globe. And our game changing transportation offering will bypass congested streets. We plan to offer point to point connections that slash journey times from key hubs like airports. 

Sascha: [00:10:25] So, Simon, it seems like plenty of people are working on this in all different parts of the world. But I do feel like we have to ask this question, which is how would it even work? How do we integrate flying cars into our transport system? I imagine that, yeah, we can't all just be getting into small helicopters and flying around without some kind of flight path and logistics and planning in place. 

Simon: [00:10:49] It's a great question. And the integration of flying cars or electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles known as EV Toll's entire transportation system presents both exciting possibilities and huge logistical challenges and science fiction flying cars are often docked on skyscrapers, but how practical is that going to be in the real world? I mean, would you really want to climb to the top floor of a tall building just to catch a taxi? How long is that going to take? 

Sascha: [00:11:17] And also, in certain parts of the city, there might not be buildings of that height.

Simon: [00:11:22] Exactly. So many believe 30 ports could instead initially be built on top or alongside the existing transport hubs that we have so that passengers can connect from one mode of transport to another and help facilitate more easy connections between, you know, buses, trains and Vito's. An expectation is that initially vetos may operate between existing airports and helipad. So, Sacha, imagine you get to city airport, you want to go to Olympic Stadium to watch the Matildas play. There's a lot of traffic to get there. So instead you can just jump into Vito and get taken to the helipad that really exists at the Olympic Park. 

Sascha: [00:11:59] Yes, I mean, that would be great. Who's getting me tickets to the Matildas tonight and who's going to be flying me there in my personalised taxi? I'm so freakin proud. So, Simon, I feel like not to throw you under the bus here, but kind of while the technology is rapidly developing, we don't really have an answer of how different geographical regions are going to overcome these logistical challenges. How this might actually happen might vary greatly from region to region. So I guess let's look at these companies. What did they think the future of transportation looks like? According to them. 

Simon: [00:12:36] These companies are promising that these innovative aircraft are going to be quieter, cleaner and more sustainable aviation and that they have the potential to revolutionise urban transportation by providing fast and efficient travel and most importantly, bypassing congested roads. A likely scenario is that the use of air taxis will be firstly in very densely populated areas like central London or New York at peak times. But perhaps only very wealthy travellers will be able to fly at first, as was the case of the early days of commercial aviation. Economies of scale may eventually make flying cars affordable, particularly if cities can incentivise companies to provide access. Since service to lower income neighbourhoods beyond passenger transportation. eVtol also have the potential to serve various other purposes. So could search and rescue, organ transportation, delivery services and even tourism. So while challenges do lie ahead, the excitement around the eVitol technology suggests that it's not a question of if they'll become a reality, but more when. And while various companies are developing this technology and these vehicles, planners and regulators are also working together to pave the way for this new mode of transportation. So very exciting times. We're actually witnessing the development of a transportation system before the technology really even exists. So it's an exciting prospect for the future. 

Sascha: [00:14:02] Simon, all I can think is it took me quite a few years to pass my driver's test. And so if I have to then do that again for a flying car. Not harmful for my chances, even if I do end up with the income to afford one. Simon, how about you? Do you think you're going to be ready to take to the wheel of a flying car when they become available? 

Simon: [00:14:25] Look, I think the reality is probably the electric taxis with a pilot is going to be what we see first. But yeah, it does ask exciting questions. I mean, how are you going to learn to drive a flying car now? And he's going to get those licenses and how long you need your plates on for those. 

Sascha: [00:14:41] Forever for the rest of my life. I think that's probably going to be the case. Look, let's leave it there for today. Thanks so much, Simon, for joining me. Why don't you jump into our inbox and tell us what you think of flying cars. All those details in the show notes below. And remember, the best thing, the single best thing that you can do for us here at The Dive, if you enjoy listening to the show, is to send it to a friend. Word of mouth is the best way for people to discover podcasts. Simon, Thanks for joining me today. 

Simon: [00:15:11] Thanks, Ash. It's been an uplifting show.

Sascha: [00:15:13] Oh, well done on the phone there. Until next time.