New Company Gove Sets Effort On Flying Cars Mobility Reality

 

Govy AirJet concept from GAC Group seeks to make flying cars a reality by 2027. Image Credit: GAC Group (2025)

New Company Gove Sets Effort On Flying Cars Mobility Reality

Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC Group), a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer and the fifth largest automobile manufacturer in China, announces the launch of a new electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) brand called Gove, focused on investing in sustainable air transportation.

Flying cars may be even closer than we expect, the company will focus on the design and production of flying cars, with the new AirJet currently being its flagship model. This electrically powered air taxi is said to be able to fly for up to 200 kilometers (124 miles), making it suitable for long journeys.

The AirCar, GAC Group's first ongoing development, is designed for zero-emission trips up to 20 km (12.4 miles). Image Credit: GAC Group (2024)

BACKGROUND:

In 2023, GAC unveiled a groundbreaking EV/eVTOL combo vehicle called “Gove,” a name derived from the words “GAC, On the Go, Vertical, and EV.” The Gove made its debut during GAC’s Tech Day Event in June 2023, where it was showcased to an eager audience. The company expressed its vision for the Gove to become a cornerstone of its future mobility lineup.

Since then, updates have been sparse, although we do know that GAC has rebranded the Gove as “AirCar.”

This name change is unsurprising, given the challenges faced by companies developing standalone eVTOLs. Achieving the necessary certifications and building infrastructure for commercial air taxi services is already a significant hurdle. Combining a road-capable EV with an eVTOL component adds even more complexity to the equation.

Among its peers, Chinese automaker XPeng seems closest to overcoming these challenges. Through its eVTOL venture AeroHT, XPeng is developing the “Land Aircraft Carrier,” an EV/eVTOL hybrid projected to enter scaled production by 2026.

XPENG AEROHT’s ‘modular flying car’ (carrier transport with eVTOL aircraft) will enter mass production, pre-orders begin in Q4. The aircraft module (as seen at CES2025) features a small two-person cockpit made from lightweight carbon fiber and has a six-rotor design with foldable propellers and arms. It can be driven manually or autonomously, and more than 200 units are currently being tested.Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2025)

Meanwhile, GAC appears to still be refining the AirCar. In addition, the company is expanding its portfolio with a second model, the AirJet, which debuted under its newly established eVTOL-focused business arm, Gove.

The AirJet comprises over 90% carbon fiber, weighing just one-third of a car body of the same size while being efficient and suitable for longer flights. The vertical lift-offs and transitional rotors of eVTOLs allow for efficient and clean cruising through the air, per Interesting Engineering.

Being made of composite materials also makes it easy to produce on a large scale. It can reach a speed of up to 155 mph and is designed for users' diverse travel needs, from ground to low altitude.

Current projections for the eVTOL industry show estimates of growth reaching over $23.4 billion by the year 2030 per Markets and Markets. Generally touted by its enthusiasts as a sustainable industry and friendly for the environment, models like the AirJet focus on advancing efficiency and lessening environmental concerns. 

GAC plans to secure certification for its flying cars, set up production lines, and begin pre-orders for the AirJet and AirCar sometime in 2025. The company also plans to demonstrate operations for its future products in Greater Bay Area cities by 2027.

(ht: TheCoolDown & electrek)

... notes from The EDJE

TAGS: CES, China, Electric Vehicles, Xpeng AeroHT, GAC Group, AirCar, AirJet Gove, eVTOL, The EDJE

Emotive Driving Is A "Thing" At Korean Auto Maker KIA

Much of the focus on self-driving cars, naturally, has centered on the driving technology, however, the future user experience that a fully automated car can potentially deliver also needs to be looked at, feels KIA. Image Credit: KIA via MotorAuthority (2018)

Emotive Driving Is A "Thing" At Korean Auto Maker KIA

Next month at the 2019 International CES show in Las Vegas, running from January 8th to January 11th, KIA plans on revealing a window, or better, a sensory space by which Human and Vehicle become one.

"READ" that ... Artifical Intelligence in real-time.

At CES 2019, Kia will look into the future, to a time when self-driving cars are the norm. Image Credit: KIA via MediaPost (2018)

This edited and excerpted from MediaPost Communications -

Kia To Unveil In-Car Tech For 'Emotive Driving' Future 

In a move aimed at a post-autonomous driving era, Kia Motors plans to show new technologies including an analysis of a driver’s emotional state.

Kia’s ‘Space of Emotive Driving’ exhibit at the coming 2019 CES, will highlight the concept of a new Real-time Emotion Adaptive Driving (or, READ) system, technology created in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab.

The READ system can optimize and personalize a cabin space in a vehicle by analyzing a driver’s emotional state in real time through artificial intelligence, bio-signal recognition technology, according to Kia.

“We have developed READ system to create an interactive future mobility in-cabin space by converging cutting-edge vehicle control technology and AI-based emotional intelligence,” stated Albert Biermann, president and head of research and development division of Kia Motors. “READ system will enable continuous communication between drivers and vehicles through the unspoken language of emotional feeling, thereby providing an optimized human senses-oriented space for drivers in real-time.”
[Reference Here]

MIT Media Lab has helped by integrating an adaptation of their ground breaking technology that was profiled in FORBES, which stated that MIT has created a special headset that allows one to communicate with a computer system by simply thinking what one wanted to say to it, kind of like being able to issue a command to Amazon's Alexa or Apple's Siri telepathically.

It's called AlterEgo and it's a wearable device that attaches to one's jaw and face (don't worry, it's totally non-invasive and doesn't break the skin, although the prototype looks a little goofy) where electrodes pick up neuromuscular signals triggered when one says words in one's head. These signals aren't detectable when one look's at someone who is verbalizing internally.
[ht: FORBES - Reference Here]

... notes from The EDJE




TAGS: KIA, MIT, MIT Media Lab, Real-time Emotion Adaptive Driving, READ, AlterEgo, CES, The EDJE

FIA Formula E At CES ... Virtual Racing, Sensation Without Skin-In-The-Game Consequence

FIA Formula E At CES ...

... Virtual Racing, Sensation Without Skin-In-The-Game Consequence

Interview conducted by Edmund Jenks with Stephen Harvey after he attended the Visa Vegas eRace simulation technology promotional race licensed by FIA Formula E, using Cloud Sport virtual gaming services and Playseat driving simulators at 2017 CES (Consumer Electronics Show).

Stephen runs a consulting effort that develops digital strategies producing relevant, engaging, successful online campaigns that get results. In the interview, the Formula E experience is developed and explored from firsthand attendance at two races held at the Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach temporary street course track then explores the simulation race-off on the floor at 2017 CES trade show in Las Vegas.

After the taping of the interview, Stephen, who is is also a member of the Social Media Club of Los Angeles (SMCLA), was asked about the main business case that may be made for such an event - and this is what he wrote back:

The main business aspect of the event was to tie together the world of eSports and the motorsports world. eSports are going to be huge with lots of money pouring in starting right now. This year you will see an explosion in eSporting events and prize money involved. Also, big brands (ie VISA) are recognizing that eSports are an up-n-coming market that they can get in with on the ground floor. Gamers have money and the gaming community is quite large.

SMCLA actually had a panel event a few months ago about eSports and how they are on the cusp on being huge. It was likened to how MMA and X-Games were a few years ago and then just took off in popularity.

Stephen Harvey's Facebook Live Pre-eRace Event Broadcast At CES

This explanation of event sensation without skin-in-the-game consequence is the imagined state of what a driver may feel as he, or she, competes in a virtual reality "program and display" world.

Visa Vegas eRace Highlights - Formula E

Using the drivers and branding of FIA Formula E combined with the sponsorship of VISA, the credit card company, using Cloud Sport virtual gaming services, and Playseat driving simulators to promote virtual racing is an interesting proposition, in that electric car racing platforms present a pretty large conceptual change in a fan's attendance to the racing experience already ... it just isn't the over century old form of traditional propulsion vehicle racing.

Sim Racers On Gaming - Formula E

With the concept of virtual reality vehicle racing, we are treated to an experience void of real vehicles, propulsion via any energy deliverance means. Further, if one isn't familiar with just who is piloting the images that appear on a large screen in real time, an opportunity for a large disconnect between the competitive event and the consuming FAN can take place to the determent of the actual value of competition (no matter the prize money amount) in the first place.

 Over time, degradation to "Racing" in general can become a real problem to motor culture overall - as in ... "Who Cares?"!

... notes from The EDJE



TAGS: Visa Vegas eRace, FIA Formula E, VISA, Cloud Sport, virtual gaming, Playseat, driving simulators, CES, The EDJE, Stephen Harvey