Techtalk

Hyundai and Uber have entered a partnership to manufacture taxis for Elevate, a future aerial ride-share network operated by Uber. By doing so, the Korean firm is the first carmaker to join forces with the multinational ride-hailing service in its endeavour to establish personal air mobility as an alternative means of transport. Hyundai will oversee the manufacturing process and deploy the completed air vehicles, while Uber provides aerospace services.

Accompanying this announcement, the firms showcased the fully electric S-A1 air taxi. The concept model was developed through a Nasa-inspired opendesign process, which shares the prototype’s design with other companies, thus enabling them to use it to innovate their own technology.

The S-A1 is propelled by multiple rotors and propellers, which adjust to allow for vertical take-off and landing manoeuvres. According to Hyundai, the personal air vehicle (PAV) is capable of transporting four passengers, a pilot and their hand luggage at speeds of up to 290 km/h, while cruising at an altitude of 600 metres for 100 km before its batteries need recharging.