Air Taxis

UK company Autonomous Flight has been working on eVTOL concepts for some years now, with several prototypes already flown. Now the company has revealed a six-seat air shuttle called the Y6S Plus that uses an interesting coaxial tricopter design.

Palo Alto's Archer Aviation may be fairly fresh out of the blocks in its tilt at the emerging eVTOL air taxi market, but it's assembling some heavy hitters in its corner with today's announcement that it's partnering with Fiat Chrysler Automotive.

China's air mobility company EHang has added another location to its autonomous air taxi roster with the launch of an aerial sightseeing trial in partnership with real estate company Greenland Hong Kong.

Switzerland's Manta Aircraft is working on a flexible hybrid-electric canard aircraft design that will be capable of VTOL or efficient STOL operations. A one-third scale model has been built, and the team is preparing for its first flight tests.

Short takeoff and landing aircraft might prove an efficient alternative to eVTOLs in the early days of electric flight, using super-short runways – maybe even on top of buildings – while flying much farther on a charge than the eVTOLs.

EHang is on a mission to get its autonomous air taxis into the air around the globe. After flying into Spain earlier this year, the air mobility firm has now been granted its first trial flight permit in the European Union – but it's not in Seville.

Germany's Volocopter has committed to launching commercial eVTOL flights in Singapore "within the next two to three years," and advance tickets have already sold out to early adopters eager to take the first joyrides in this electric air taxi.

The future eVTOL air taxi market could be in for quite a shake-up, with reports coming in that Uber has sold its Elevate division to airframe manufacturer Joby Aviation. Uber Elevate was expected to be a major player in the air taxi market.

From 1935 to 1948, French manufacturer Avions Mauboussin was known for its light sporting aircraft. Its name has now been revived, by a French startup that plans on building hybrid STOL (short take-off and landing) airplanes.

Chinese air mobility company EHang has completed three test flights in South Korea to show off the passenger transport, emergency response and air tourism potential of its all-electric two-passenger autonomous aerial vehicle, the EHang 216.

An Australian company has popped out of stealth mode to reveal a new electric VTOL aircraft that is already at the pre-flight prototype stage. AMSL Aero's Vertiia aircraft can fly up to 500 miles on hydrogen, and will start out as an air ambulance.

Austrian company Cyclotech is planning to begin flight-testing an 80-kg (176-lb) demonstrator of its unique electric VTOL airframe, which uses Voith-Schneider propellers instead of rotors for exceptional agility and control in the air.