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Suzuki to bring flying taxis to India
Suzuki, the parent company of Maruti, may enable India to implement e-air taxis.
Suzuki plans to bring the SkyDrive e-air taxi to its Maruti operation in India. / Photo: Skydrive
Suzuki Motor Corp has announced its plan to launch 12 of Japan’s first electric air taxis at the 2025 Osaka Expo, starting in April next year.
The three-passenger taxi with a range of 15 kilometres, will be manufactured by SkyDrive Inc. a leading Japanese eVTOL ( e-Vertical Takeoff and Landing) aircraft maker owned by Suzuki. The plant will be used to produce up to 100 eVTOLs per year and production will commence this year.
India manufacture on cards
The automaker also confirmed that it is exploring manufacturing in India under the Make in India initiative leveraging cost advantages of local production. However, it is early days to talk about timelines.
Dubai too, in race for 2025
Meanwhile California-based Joby Aviation, a company developing all-electric aircraft for commercial passenger service, has signed a definitive agreement with Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) to launch air taxi services in the Emirates, targeting initial operations as early as 2025.
Joby has signed an agreement with Skyports, who will design, build and operate four initial vertiport sites across Dubai. The partners have identified Dubai International Airport (DXB), Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Marina and Dubai Downtown as the launch locations for Dubai’s air taxi service.
Joby’s aircraft is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour and will be operated by the company, with a journey from Dubai International Airport to Palm Jumeirah expected to take just 10 minutes compared with 45 minutes by car.
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