Chinese company acquires European manufacturer of flying cars

A Chinese company has acquired the technology that was at the heart of the development of a flying car, which was initially developed and successfully tested in Europe.

The AirCar, which was powered by a BMW engine and used regular fuel, traveled between two airports in Slovakia for a total of thirty-five minutes in 2021, making use of runways for both takeoff and landing.

A little more than two minutes were required for the vehicle to convert from a car into an airplane.

A "specific geographical region" in China will now be the location where automobiles that are manufactured based on its design will be utilized.

The Hebei Jianxin Flying Car Technology Company, which has its headquarters in Cangzhou, has completed the acquisition of exclusive rights to manufacture and use AirCar aircraft inside a region that has not been announced.

According to Anton Zajac, creator of KleinVision, the company that was responsible for the creation of AirCar, the company has constructed its very own airfield as well as a flight school following an earlier acquisition from another Slovak aircraft manufacturer.

Following its pioneering role in the creation of the electric vehicle revolution, China is currently actively working to develop solutions for flying transportation transport.

During the previous month, a company known as Autoflight conducted a test flight of a drone that was capable of transporting passengers between the cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai. It was stated that the voyage, which takes three hours to complete by car, was finished in twenty minutes, despite the fact that the aircraft did not have any passengers on board.

Additionally, in the year 2023, the Chinese company eHang was granted a safety certificate by the Chinese government for its electric flying taxi application. In this regard, the government of the United Kingdom has stated that flying taxis may become a common sight in the skies by the year 2028.

Nevertheless, in contrast to these passenger aircrafts that resemble drones, AirCar does not take off and land vertically and necessitates the use of a runway.

The amount of money that KleinVision had made from the sale of the technology was not disclosed. A certificate of airworthiness was granted to AirCar by the Slovak Transport Authority in the year 2022. Additionally, AirCar was featured in a film that was uploaded to YouTube by Mr Beast on the beginning of this year.

Infrastructure, regulations, and public acceptance of the technology are still significant obstacles that need to be overcome before this mode of transportation may become widely adopted.

"This brave new world of personal transport is acting as a great leveller," said aviation analyst Steve Wright. "It's a brave new world."

It was "everyone scrambling to come up with a whole new set of questions that need to be asked" as a result of global efforts to regulate the sector.

"In this respect the West's history can sometimes slow things down, as there is a bit of a temptation to try and squeeze these new machines into the old categories," Mr. Wright explained further. "China could well see this as an opportunity to get ahead."

Concerns of a similar nature were presented in the past with regard to electric cars, in which China has emerged as the worldwide market leader.

The sale of the Slovakian AirCar may give rise to inquiries on the possibility that China is on the verge of achieving the same level of success with flying automobiles.

"with queues and baggage checks and whatnot," Mr. Wright said, despite the fact that prototypes such as the AirCar were "great fun," the reality was likely to end up being more humdrum.

Chinese company acquires European manufacturer of flying cars

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