JAPAN’S FLYING CAR DREAM TO TAKE WING

Government-led group has enlisted Uber, Airbus, Boeing and Toyota, among others, in new push

JAPAN is making a push to develop flying cars, enlisting companies including Uber Technologies Inc and Airbus SE in a governmentled group to bring airborne vehicles to the country in the next decade, said sources.

The group will initially comprise about 20 companies, including Boeing Co, NEC Corp, a Toyota Motor Corp-backed startup called Cartivator, ANA Holdings Inc, Japan Airlines Co, and Yamato Holdings Co.

Delegates would gather next Wednesday for the first of their monthly meetings, said sources.

The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry and the Transport Ministry planned to draft a road map this year, they said.

An Uber spokesman confirmed the firm’s participation, but declined to comment further.

Flying cars that can zoom over congested roads are closer to reality than many people think.

Startups around the world are pursuing small aircraft, which were until recently only in the realm of science fiction.

With Japanese firms already trailing their global peers in electric vehicles and self-driving cars, the government is showing urgency on the aircraft technology, stepping in to facilitate legislation and infrastructure to help gain leadership.

Many have already had a head start in the race. Uber, which will invest €20 million (RM95.1 million) over the next five years to develop flying car services in a new facility in Paris, has set a goal of starting commercial operations of its air-taxi business by 2023.

Kitty Hawk, the Mountain View, California-based startup founded and backed by Google’s Larry Page, in June offered a glimpse of an aircraft prototype: a singleperson recreational vehicle.

Other global companies envisioning this new form of transportation include Volkswagen AG, Daimler AG and Chinese carmaker Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd.

Japanese carmakers have not yet announced their plans to develop flying cars.