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

#CES2024 Reveal Of eVTOL XPENG Flying Car

Just as one enters the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, a shrouded object greeted all as the signage heralded all to witness the reveal of this eVTOL mobility solution scheduled to be functional and in use by 2025. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2024) 

#CES2024 Reveal Of eVTOL XPENG Flying Car

Last week at the #CES2024 consumer technology show in Las Vegas, Xpeng Aeroht put on a global reveal of a very unique eVTOL solution to open the show in the West Hall. Xpeng's flying vehicle, named the Land Aircraft Carrier, stood among other flying vehicles on display. Notably, Xpeng was the sole company to provide a timeline for the commencement of commercial sales.

Xpeng Aeroht is set to commence accepting orders for its flying car style eVTOL solution later this year, as announced by the subsidiary of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng Motors. Deliveries are scheduled to commence in late 2025.

The Land Aircraft Carrier is a modular vehicle comprising two segments: a flying module designed for low-altitude transport and a six-wheeled module for terrestrial use. The initial sales of the vehicle will take place in China, with a price tag exceeding 1 million yuan ($140,000). Prospective buyers are expected to have the opportunity to test the vehicles in specified trial areas before finalizing their purchases.

While many competitors in the industry focus on business and public service sectors, Xpeng distinguishes itself by targeting the consumer market. Additionally, at the Las Vegas event, the company showcased a concept electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) flying car. In contrast to the Land Aircraft Carrier, this vehicle is a unified unit capable of both flying and driving.

Brian Gu, co-president of Xpeng Motors, emphasized that the company's products are tailored for the Chinese market. Xpeng is actively engaged in discussions with regulators regarding the gradual introduction of flying cars in the country.

ADDITIONAL Reference Here >>>

... notes from The EDJE 

FEATURED ARTICLE >>>

TAGS: #CES2024, Flying Car, Land Aircraft Carrier, The EDJE, eVTOL, Xpeng Aeroht, #EVHNEWS

Air Taxis Are 'A Thing' To Be A Mobility Option Soon

Lilium, which is partly financed by Chinese tech giant Tencent, made the debut flight of its two-seat aircraft in 2017. Further, has performed over 100 vertical take off and landing test with great success with their latest 5 passenger model. Image Credit: China Daily

Air Taxis Are 'A Thing' To Be A Real Mobility Option Soon

Priority transportation landscape will be changing sooner than most prognosticators think.

Electric-powered air platform concepts from several manufactures are beginning to prove themselves in testing through a wide variety of design platforms. Many that take their lead from traditional drone configurations to multi-engine fan jets that will achieve their flight lift through airplane wing style solutions.

EHang claims its new vehicle, dubbed the 184, is the world’s first electric, personal autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) that will “achieve humanity’s long-standing dream of easy, everyday flight” for short-to-medium distances. Image Credit: CGStudio

This excerpted and edited from China Daily -

Market for air taxis set to take off
By Angus McNeice in London | China Daily Global | Updated: 2019-10-15 21:07

For a show that first aired almost 60 years ago, The Jetsons was impressively prophetic about future technology.

The cartoon about a family living in 2062 predicted jetpacks, holograms, smartphones and 3-D printing — and now approximations of the Jetson family's nifty "aerocar" can be added to the list.

Several major transportation businesses, including Boeing, Airbus and Uber, are conducting test flights of all-electric flying machines that promise to revolutionize urban travel through ride-sharing air taxi services.

A handful of startups populate the increasingly crowded market, including Volocopter and Lilium, two German companies backed by Chinese investment.

Hangzhou-based automaker Geely led a $55 million funding round for Volocopter, which held a demonstration flight for its dronelike passenger carrier in Stuttgart in late September.

Lilium, which is partly financed by Chinese tech giant Tencent, made the debut flight in 2017 of its two-seat aircraft, which looks more like a small plane than a helicopter. The company also recently completed a test take-off and landing for a five-seat prototype.

The technology is in such an advanced stage that most air taxi companies are predicting commercial launches between 2022 and 2025.
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Regulation, costs and public acceptance stand in the way of widespread use of air taxis, according to Tim Schwanen, director of the Transport Studies Unit at Oxford University.

"It's not only about the technology, and in some ways, technology is the easy part," Schwanen said. "There are issues around regulation, there are issues around markets. Do we want these services? Do we need them?

"Visions like The Jetsons where people are flying everywhere, an explosion of flying taxis — that won't happen for a very long time. We're talking decades."

Volocopter GmbH is a German aircraft manufacturer based in Bruchsal and founded by Alexander Zosel and Stephan Wolf. The company specializes in the design of electric multirotor helicopters in the form of ready-to-fly aircraft, designed for air taxi use. Image Credit: Volocopter GmbH

If and how existing air traffic control systems will incorporate air taxis is also a sticking point, as is the limited availability of landing pads in many major cities.

A recent report from London-based industry analysts L.E.K. Consulting predicted that a substantial uptake in air taxi services will not occur within the next 10 to 15 years.

Whatever the time scale, governments seem to be getting on board with the idea. This year, the United States Federal Aviation Administration expressed support for trials, and the European Union Air Safety Agency published guidelines for manufacturers of electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, aircraft.

In China, Guangzhou-based air taxi company Ehang began conducting supervised tests with the Civil Aviation Administration of China this year, while Geely's and Tencent's investments suggest they believe there is an appetite for the technology in China.

Veteran car designer Frank Stephenson, who designs Lilium's aircraft, said companies must make safety their top priority.

"The moment one of these things has an issue, you're going to lose a lot of public confidence and trust," he said.

Lilium said its service will be affordable, and it expects that early routes will run between airports and city centers.

"The intention is absolutely not to make it for the elite," said Stephenson. "It's mobility for everyone — from the student or the teenager who needs to visit his grandma ... all the way up to the VIP."

Uber predicts its service Uber Air will initially cost $3.60 per passenger kilometer, and the company aims to get this down to $0.27 per passenger kilometer, making it competitive with car ownership.

But Schwanen of Oxford University doubts that such low prices will be achievable early on, even in today's business environment replete with money-losing companies that value growth over profit.

Schwanen said he thinks service will be "on a limited scale for the super-rich. It's going to be people who are able to afford this, and who may have properties where they can land."

Removing pilots from the equation will help drive down costs, and the majority of companies say they will eventually switch to automation.

With more than a dozen companies working on air taxis, determining which operators emerge as market leaders will largely come down to design, efficiency and range, according to Stephenson, who believes Lilium is ahead of the pack on all three counts.

Lilium says its aircraft will have a range of 300 kilometers, around double the distance offered by most of its competitors.

The company also says its planes will use around 90 percent less energy than drone-style aircraft, due in part to wing-assisted flight.

The wings on the Lilium plane contain rows of ducted fans mounted in flaps that swivel 90 degrees, pushing air down during takeoff and landing and backward while cruising.

"Wings give you lift, so it's a lot more energy efficient," Stephenson said.

"You need a lot of electrical power to go up and down, but not that much to go horizontally."

Lilium aims to have people in the air by 2025 — outdoing the Jetson family by a generation.
[Reference Here]

So, maybe the vision of the cartoon future world of The Jetson's isn't here,  but the conceptual vision of priority transportation for select applications and markets is really just around the corner.

This timeframe of 15+ years will become telescoped once the safety and autonomy issues get locked down and being able to hop onto one of these platforms, to travel 150 miles in about an hour, all made possible with non-airport requirement electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, personal capability (1 to 5 passenger) aircraft.

... notes from The EDJE




TAGS: electric vertical takeoff and landing, eVTOL, aircraft, Lilium, Ehang, Volocopter, L.E.K. Consulting, Frank Stephenson, Geely, Boeing, Airbus, Uber, Tim Schwanen, China Daily, The EDJE