Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Beijing, Sep 27.- Offering an "accessible, safe and fast" service in short distances will be the principle that China will pursue when in 2024 it makes its dream of introducing flying taxis or eVTOLs into the urban transport system.
Like other powers in the world, the Asian country is also committed to revolutionizing the air mobility of its cities through an inventiveness only seen before in science fiction films, and with projections of becoming a very profitable business.
Recently, China took another step in this adventure when the Shanghai TCab Technology company announced the beginning of the tests of the E20, completely electric, vertical take-off, space to carry four passengers and capable of flying at 260 kilometers per hour.
The design of the equipment allows you to land and take off with ease, the estimated speed will make it five times faster than conventional taxis and the battery will be charged to one hundred percent in just half an hour.
Until now, the automaker Geely was the most advanced in the idea, after its subsidiary Wofei Changkong Technology joined forces with the German pioneer Volocopter to take the novel means of transport to the skies.
Although the Government has not yet approved specific laws on operations in this industry, provinces such as Hunan, Anhui, Jiangxi and Zhejiang are looming as possible leaders, favored with incentives for the development and construction of infrastructures for what could become “low altitude tourism.”
According to Jiang Jun, director of TCab Technology, his firm and the Civil Aviation Administration look for references in foreign regulations about the use of eVTOLs to form the respective certificate.
Jiang Jun optimistically predicts a high demand for the service, noting that customers could be businessmen, guests at special events or ordinary citizens in need of getting anywhere soon.
According to statistics, the current market for eVTOLs is barely a million dollars because most of the projects are still in development, but could reach 524 million in 2025 and 1.9 billion in 2035.
The enormous potential of the market made big brands like Toyota, Uber, Hyundai, Airbus and Boeing commit to creating new models in the coming years.
In fact, an international study predicts that this electric transport will expand annually on average 46 percent and by 2040 there will be more than 430 thousand units in operation. (Text and photos: Taken from PL)
