Air taxis are on their way!

May 17, 2022

People carriers have become more and more high-tech over the past decade, with engine electrification taking centre stage. But this transport segment is set to reach new heights. JACO DE KLERK reports.

The global electric bus market size is projected to grow from around 112 000 units in 2022 to more than 671 200 units by 2027, at a compound annual growth rate of 43,1%*.

“The advancements in battery pack technologies and electric powertrains are some of the major factors driving the growth of the electric bus and coach market,” notes ResearchAndMarkets.com, one of the largest market research stores worldwide. “Many countries are focusing on electrification of their mass transit solutions, especially buses and coaches.”

Driving behaviour in Africa is also suitable for electric vehicle (EV) adoption, with some exceptions, according to McKinsey & Company’s article Power to move: Accelerating the electric transport transition in sub-Saharan Africa.

“Understanding driving and parking behaviour is critical to assessing the region’s potential for EV adoption. Vehicle owners who tend to drive less than 100 km per day and park in a dedicated space at home or work can typically use basic Level 1 or Level 2 EV charging. Most personal car owners in sub-Saharan Africa fit these criteria, even when factoring in time spent in traffic, as EVs are very efficient in start-stop conditions,” states the report.

“The picture becomes more complex, however, for taxis, minibuses, and vans that are in frequent use and travel long distances every day,” it continues. “Vehicles that travel more than 100 km a day with limited stops would require fairly high-cost Level 3 DC fast-charging infrastructure along major routes or at commercial centres. Short routes for minibuses and vans that park overnight at a fixed station may be more suitable for early EV adoption, where a wall charger can be installed with comparatively limited investment.”

So, it will take more time before electric buses are commonplace on our roads. Globally, however, people carriers are soon going to literally reach new heights, as air taxis appear on the horizon.

Ian Taylor summarises it perfectly in his BBC Science Focus Magazine article**: “Just a few years ago, it felt like flying cars were still a distant sci-fi future. But investment has increased rapidly, and a number of companies are now building air taxis to make our city journeys faster, easier and cleaner.”

He adds that many developers believe their vehicles will be safety certified and cleared for take-off by 2025, if not sooner. “Boeing, Airbus and Hyundai are some of the familiar names building air taxis. Another is Joby, which bought Uber Elevate, the ride-sharing giant’s foray into electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, in December 2020. Meanwhile, British firm Vertical claims to have the highest number of conditional pre-orders with the likes of Virgin Atlantic and American Airlines among the investors lining up for its VA-X4 vehicle.”

Taylor quotes Andrew Macmillan, director of infrastructure at Vertical: “It’s going to be a quiet and pleasant, fast and efficient way of getting around. [The VA-X4] allows you to travel 100-plus miles [160 km] at 200 mph [322 km/h]. It takes off vertically and then transitions to fly horizontally, giving you that range.”

The VA-X4 will carry four passengers and a pilot. In the rear, two pairs of people will sit facing each other like in the back of a London taxi. “As a fare-payer, you can look out of the windows and chat with your fellow flyers without the need for ear protection or microphones,” writes Taylor. “That’s because, like the majority of eVTOLs, the VA-X4 flies using quiet electric rotors that, per journey, produce less carbon than a Tesla travelling the same distance on the roads below.”

Some of these machines might even run autonomously. Wisk, a leading Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company and developer of the first all-electric, self-flying air taxi in the US, has secured US$450 million in funding from The Boeing Company, making it one of the most well-funded AAM companies in the world.

This investment will advance the development of Wisk’s sixth generation eVTOL aircraft, a first-ever candidate for certification of an autonomous, all-electric, passenger-carrying aircraft in the US. The funding will also support the company as it enters an intensive growth phase over the next year, including its preparations for the launch of scale manufacturing, and the company’s Go-to-Market efforts. Within five years following the certification of its sixth generation aircraft, Wisk intends to operate one of the industry’s largest fleets of AAM eVTOL aircraft.

“Wisk is extremely well-positioned to deliver on our long-term strategy and commitment to safe, everyday flight for everyone. We are incredibly fortunate to have Boeing as not only an investor but a strategic partner, which provides us with access to a breadth of resources, industry-leading expertise, a global reach, extensive certification experience, and more,” says Gary Gysin, CEO of Wisk. “As we enter this next stage of our growth, this additional funding provides us with capital, while allowing us to remain focused on our core business and our number one priority: safety.”

Marc Allen, chief strategy officer of Boeing, adds: “With this investment, we are reconfirming our belief in Wisk’s business and the importance of their work in pioneering all-electric, AI-driven, autonomous capability for the aerospace industry. Autonomy is the key to unlocking scale across all AAM applications, from passenger to cargo and beyond. That’s why straight-to-autonomy is a core first principle. Boeing and Wisk have been at the forefront of AAM innovation for more than a decade, and will continue to lead in the years ahead.”

Wisk began in 2010 as Zee Aero, with a mission to deliver safe, everyday flight for everyone, and later merged with Kitty Hawk Corporation. Upon recognising the commercial potential of Wisk’s fifth generation aircraft, the aircraft and team were spun out to form Wisk, with investment from The Boeing Company. Over the past decade, Wisk has achieved a number of aviation and industry firsts, most notably the first flight in the US of an all-electric, autonomous, eVTOL aircraft designed for passenger use.

With the company’s substantial expertise in autonomous, electric flight, its extensive flight test history, key knowledge and insights from the development of five generations of aircraft, and the strength of its partnerships, Wisk is positioned to maintain its leadership in the AAM and broader mobility space.

Hopefully, South Africa will catch up on the electric front, or maybe we can jump straight to local air travel as people carriers take flight!

* These figures are taken from the global market research store ResearchAndMarkets.com’s report “Global Electric Bus Market by Propulsion, Application, Consumer, Range, Bus Length, Seating Capacity, Power Output, Battery Capacity, Component, Level of Autonomy, Battery Type & Region – Forecast 2027”.

** The article “Flying cars take off: How air taxis are about to revolutionise how we travel” first appeared in Issue 373 of BBC Science Focus Magazine.