A flying car invented by Slovakia’s KleinVision is set to be manufactured by a Chinese firm.
KleinVision has signed a license agreement with Hebei Jianxin Flying Car Technology Company Limited, which is based in Cangzhou, a heavily industrialised city 180 kilometres from Beijing. The value of the deal has not been disclosed, but its scope is “geographically limited” to an as yet unnamed area of China.
Anton Zajac, co-founder of KleinVision, announcing the agreement hailed it as “a significant step in our mission to expand global access to revolutionary mobility solutions and drive progress in the industry.”
A flying two-seat sport car
The AirCar, designed by Professor Stefan Klein, founder of KleinVision, is styled like a two-seat sport coupe. It has a 160 HP BMW engine, a fixed propeller, folding wings, and a ballistic parachute and can drive as a road vehicle as well as fly, with the reconfiguration taking just over two minutes. Unlike e-VTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing) vehicles, the AirCar cannot take off vertically and needs a runway.
It has been put through its paces in prototype phase, notching up over 70 hours of test flights before certification by the Slovakian authorities in 2022.
“A great equaliser”
Lack of infrastructure, regulatory frameworks and public attitudes towards flying cars and drones remain barriers to widespread adoption. In the UK, there are strategic plans to accelerate their implementation and acceptance, with efforts to change people’s minds about them in the meantime including using them to deliver medical supplies.
Some aviation and mobility experts see them as potential levellers within the transport sector. Aviation consultant Steve Wright, speaking to the BBC, has said the “new mode of transportation is a great equalizer.”
Wright also noted that, while the U.S. and Europe are playing catch up with the tech and its regulatory implications, China could take the lead, as they have done in the electric vehicle sector. “In this respect, the West’s history can sometimes slow things down, as there is a bit of a temptation to try and squeeze these new machines into the old categories,” he said. “China could see this as an opportunity to get ahead.”
Other flying vehicles in development in China
There are signs this is already happening. Autoflight, a Shanghai-headquartered e-VTOL developer, carried out a successful 20-minute test flight of an (empty) passenger drone from Shenzhen to Zhuhai last month. And another autonomous vehicle, the eHang flying taxi, developed by Guangzhou EHang Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd gained safety certification in 2023.
