Volkswagen is mulling to take the possibility of personal air travel to the next level as it looks to develop flying vehicles in China. "Vertical mobility" could be the next step after self-driving technology, the automaker said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Therefore, we are investigating potential concepts and partners in a feasibility study [in China] to identify the possibility to industrialise this approach," it stated.
China is the world's largest autos market and is also Volkswagen's single biggest customer. The news comes as the German carmaker makes a big push into electric cars, Reuters reported.
But "vertical mobility" throws up many more hurdles than electric mobility, including safety and reliability. Flying vehicles would need to operate in crowded airspace, near small drones and traditional airplanes, and would also need a regulatory framework, which could take years.
The news comes as companies from start-ups to other global carmakers are racing to develop commercial "robo-taxis", hoping to cash in on a market Morgan Stanley says could be worth $1.5 trillion by 2040.
Recently, General Motors presented a futuristic flying Cadillac—a self-driving vehicle which takes off and lands vertically and carries the passenger above the streets and through the air.
Other automakers, including Toyota Motor, Hyundai Motor and Geely Automobile, have previously have shown concept aerial vehicles as part of their future planning.
Munich-based Lilium said in November it would set up its first U.S. hub near Orlando, putting more than 20 million Floridians within range of its winged electric aircraft that can take off vertically and cover 300 km (185 miles).
