Japan's Flying Cars

 Japan's Government: Flying Cars Over Major Cites by 2023

Source:  SkyDrive

Japan's Traffic Mitigation Goals

The government of Japan is determined to deploy flying cars for  urban traffic relief.  It wants flying cars soaring over its big cities by 2023.  It believes flying cars will be a solution for traffic congestion and transportation problems in traffic congested cities like Tokyo.  Japanese government leaders also view them as a solution for problematic mountainous and remote regions where access is difficult.

Japan's SkyDrive

There are several notable flying cars/flying taxi eVTOLS (electric vertical takeoff and landing) vehicles under development.  Players include Airbus, Uber and Boeing with their prototype eVTOLs.  And Japan is developing several of its own flying cars.  Of interest is the newest Japanese flying car startup SkyDrive with its SD-XX, 2-seat flying car.  This eVTOL can be parked in an office parking lot in just two spots.

SkyDrive Takeoff

Tokyo-based SkyDrive has raised 1.8 billion yen ($17 million) from investors.  The vehicle is at the testing stage.  It's working with Toyota City and using its indoor development base and testing facilities.  The vehicle is a piloted vehicle with 2 propellers set in 4 corners of the vehicle.  It's powered by an electric battery.  Engineers hope to launch a commercial version with speeds up to 37 mph and with a range of 19 miles.

Coming Soon

The Japanese government wants to launch air taxi services in 2023 and have the flying car companies like SkyDrive start selling autonomous flying cars by 2028 to the general public. Flying taxi service companies are targeted to start first in Tokyo and Osaka in 2023.