Cadillac and Fiat Chrysler flying cars at the start line

Events in the aircraft market have accelerated as General Motors (GM) has unveiled the futuristic aircraft Cadillac that carries its passengers in the air. And Fiat Chrysler has announced that it wants to start series production of flying cars by 2023.

Reuters cites one of GM’s executives who described the newly introduced novelty as completely reshaping the traffic of the future. A self-propelled vehicle capable of carrying one person takes off vertically, from a position like helicopters, and lands in the same way. The 89-kilometer-per-hour vehicle has a fully electric, 90-kilowatt powerplant and GM Ultium battery. It has an ultra-light body and four pairs of swivels.

The flying Cadillac was introduced by company president Mary Barra, but GM did not disclose further details about the project. Earlier, other automakers, including Toyota, Hyundai and Geely, also presented their future plans for flying vehicles. Another giant, the Fiat Chrysler, could line up next to them. Fiat Chrysler with the design of electric aircraft will soon start series production of flying cars in cooperation with Archer. This is the first time that one of the world’s largest automakers is partnering with an electric vehicle development startup to jointly conquer an increasingly promising market for short-haul aircraft. Like Archer’s rivals, Joby and Beta, it is designing aircraft that take off and land locally in the same way, allowing for faster, sustainable, and affordable urban transportation than it is today.

In terms of their technical characteristics, these vehicles are located somewhere between airplanes and helicopters, as they are able to take off and land locally in a small space and travel horizontally in the air, like airplanes, thanks to their electric rotor blades. The aircraft, designed by Archer, is capable of carrying four passengers at a speed of 241 kilometers per hour for a distance of about 97 kilometers. These driving characteristics can be significantly improved with the development of batteries. We are developing the world’s first fully electric commercial flight Says Brett Adcock, co-founder of Archer, then adds that he sees a huge demand for urban journeys between 30 and 160 kilometers, which are affordable by air taxi and cost between $ 3 and $ 6 per mile (i.e., 1.6 kilometers).

However, mass production has so far been a problem for startups like Archer. That’s why they turned to Fiat Chrysler last year with their offer of cooperation. The Italian-American automaker, which produces about 4 million cars a year in 100 plants, has a wealth of experience in low-cost mass production solutions. In return, he has access to the technology needed to make electric aircraft, which is not yet available. That is, cooperation is mutually beneficial. Fiat Chrysler expects to produce thousands of flying cars a year. The first such vehicle, bearing the Archer brand, will be unveiled earlier this year, and it is planned that the first specimens of them may appear in the air by 2024.