Will a US flying car designer take China’s Geely to the skies?
Zhejiang Geely says it has agreed to buy Terrafugia, adding to its portfolio of car brands that included Volvo, Lotus and Proton
China’s Zhejiang Geely, which owns Volvo and Lotus car brands, has agreed to buy Terrafugia, a US startup that designed the world’s first practical flying cars, as the Chinese carmaker taps into cutting edge technologies that could allow urban commuters to take to the skies in their cars.
The Hangzhou-based company that had just made global headlines with its takeover of a key stake in Malaysia’s Proton has been planning on a possible acquisition of Terrafugia since last year, a source familiar with the matter told the South China Morning Post. The purchase amount has not been disclosed.
The acquisition of the 11-year-old US flying car designer is the first attempt by a Chinese company to capitalise on a fancy yet exotic concept of a passenger vehicle that flies like an air plane in the air and drives like a car on the ground.
“Flying cars can be seen as an ‘ultimate solution’ to traffic problems and this concept can sound particularly appealing to urban Chinese who are often struggling with serious traffic congestions during peak hours,”said Yale Zhang, managing director with Automotive Foresight, a consultancy.
“Although it will take many years for makers of flying cars to achieve commercial success, it makes good sense for Geely to first go in and acquire the know-how for their long-term agenda.”
Flying cars can be seen as an ‘ultimate solution’ to traffic problems and this concept can sound particularly appealing to urban Chinese who are often struggling with serious traffic congestions during peak hours
Unlike in the field of driverless cars, there are only a handful of startups worldwide are chasing a flying car dream, with proposed designs spanning from full-bodied aircraft to helicopter-esque models. It is over the recent years that larger firms like Uber have stepped in with own programmes dedicated to research on vertical take-off and landing of aerial vehicles.
