Hyundai, Uber announce aerial taxi service, debuts air taxi model

At CES 2020, Hyundai has just announced that it has partnered up with Uber Elevate to develop and launch a future aerial ride-sharing network. Hyundai and Uber also unveiled the aircraft concept to be used for the service.

Through the partnership, Hyundai will produce and deploy the aerial vehicles, while Uber will provide support services, connections to ground transportation, and customer interfaces. Both parties are also set to develop infrastructure concepts that will support landing and take-off for the service.

Hyundai also debuted a personal air vehicle model for the ride-sharing service, the S-A1. It optimizes electrical vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL). The S-A1 is designed to have a cruising speed up to 180 miles/hr (290 km/hr), a cruising altitude of around 1,000-2,000 feet (300 – 600 mt) above ground, and to fly trips up to 60 miles (100 km). It will also be 100% electric, utilizing distributed electric propulsion to power multiple rotors. The vehicle is also designed to take off vertically, transition to wing-borne lift in cruise, and then transition back to vertical flight to land. It is also designed with four passenger seats and will be piloted initially, but Hyundai notes it will become autonomous in the future.

Jaiwon Shin, Executive Vice President and Head of Hyundai’s Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Division, stated:

“Our vision of Urban Air Mobility will transform the concept of urban transportation. We expect UAM to vitalize urban communities and provide more quality time to people. We are confident that Uber Elevate is the right partner to make this innovative product readily available to as many customers as possible.”