11 Bonkers Electrical Air Taxis Aiming to Revolutionize Your Day by day Commute
Courtesy Supernal, Embraer, Overair and Joby
Air taxis will debut this year in places like France, Italy, South Korea, and Central America. They’re already flying in China. Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is a global movement to launch a new mode of transportation using what amounts in most cases to super-sized, passenger-carrying drones, known as electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. While the name is clunky, the concept is quiet and sustainable: Move people and goods faster and safer than a car, while producing less noise and carbon emissions than a helicopter.
The first air taxis are just getting started, but most analysts expect a half-dozen to be commercially certified by 2026, and to be part of mainstream urban transport in the next 10 years. The multi-passenger eVTOLs on this list are different than one-person electric aircraft used for recreational purposes and regional eVTOLs that will take on existing commercial airlines. As the name suggests, they are almost strictly for urban use.
Aviation is something that roughly 80 percent of the global population has never experienced. Intracity air travel is rare, and limited to helicopter travel. But that will all change with the advent of air taxis. They will be commonplace in large urban centers like New York, London, and Paris, as well as being critical to easing the ground congestion in megacities like Sao Paulo, Mumbai, and Cairo.
Ideally, AAM will not only achieve its goal of broadening the reach of aviation to benefit more people but also increase the frequency of those benefits. Instead of two flights per year, imagine a city where many fly twice each day as part of their commutes.
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Overair Butterfly
Image Credit: Overair Overair designed its one-pilot, five-passenger Butterfly with distinctive points that include no single point of failure, zero carbon emissions, low noise at 44 dBA, a max speed of 200 mph, and a total range of 100 miles. Spanning over 20 feet, the Butterfly’s propellers are much longer than other electric taxis on this list, which allows it to hover with only two of the four propellers in emergency situations. Overair says its electric aircraft can cut a road trip from John Wayne Airport to LAX from 69 minutes on the ground to just 18 in the air. It expects the Butterfly to be certified and on the market sometime in 2028.
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Joby S4
Image Credit: Joby Joby’s production S4 prototype can trace its development back more than 10 years. During that time, Joby has collaborated closely with Toyota, which has invested $400 million in the company, as it plans to start manufacturing eVTOLs in California and Ohio. In late 2023, in concert with NASA, Joby simulated 120 operations in congested airspace, reporting a top speed of 200 mph. After more than 30,000 miles of test flights, Joby is farthest along the path to FAA-type certification and on track for a 2025 launch.
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Archer Midnight
Image Credit: Archer Archer’s Midnight utilizes vectored thrust that is powered by 12 electric motors, providing a maximum range of 100 miles and speeds up to 150 mph. Midnight’s Olympus lithium-ion battery pack includes max power of 1300 kW, yet the propulsion system measures just 45 dB outside the aircraft, quieter than a whisper-soft Leonardo A109c helicopter. Archer recently announced it had passed the first phase of its flight-test campaign and remains on track for 2025 certification.
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Supernal S-A2
Image Credit: Supernal Supernal recently unveiled the S-A2 at CES in Las Vegas. The eVTOL derives both vertical and horizontal thrust from 8 tilting rotors for a 120 mph cruise on sub-40-mile trips. As part of Hyundai Motor Group, Supernal promises to bring automated manufacturing processes into the aerospace arena. This novel “‘auto meets aero’” strategy, a Supernal executive told Robb Report, “will enable the company to scale offerings when the industry is ready.” In other words, once the vertiport and route infrastructures are in place, Supernal can build to market demand. The company plans a 2028 market entry for its electric air taxi.
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CityAirbus NextGen
Image Credit: Airbus Aviation giant Airbus achieved the world’s highest take-off weight for a multi-copter at over 5,000 pounds in 2021. Its CityAirbus NextGen is an all-electric, four-seat eVTOL with a lift-and-cruise configuration. It has a top speed of 75 mph, an operational range of 50 miles from 16 electric motors, and a patented Distributed Electric Propulsion system aimed to deliver greater safety through redundancy. The eVTOL is “perfectly suited to connect communities,” according to Balkiz Sarihan, the company’s head of urban air mobility. Prototype test flights are scheduled to begin this year.
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Volocopter VoloRegion
Image Credit: Volocopter Germany’s Volocopter made history in 2011 with the first crewed flight with its prototype VC1. The company produces a one-passenger, one-pilot eVTOL called VoloCity and a four-passenger, one-pilot electric air taxi called VoloRegion. With an estimated entry into service is 2026, the VoloRegion has a range of 60 miles and speed of 110 mph. One of its distinguishing features is the tricycle wheeled retractable landing gear. If plans proceed, the VoloCity should be prominent in the Paris skyline during next summer’s Olympics.
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Embraer Eve
Image Credit: Embraer Embraer’s Eve Air Mobility plans to eventually transition its air-taxi business model from piloted flights (one pilot, four passengers) to uncrewed, remotely piloted and autonomous operations (up to 6 passengers). Its electric air taxi design combines eight electric rotors for lift, along with conventional fixed wings and pushers for a more efficient range of up to 60 miles. With an industry-leading orderbook of nearly 3,000 aircraft, Embraer’s Eve factories promise to be busy in the ramp-up to commercial operations in 2026.
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Wisk Generation 6
Image Credit: Wisk Boeing’s partnership with Kitty Hawk aircraft company, originally launched by Google cofounder Larry Page, eventually resulted in Wisk Aero. It’s now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boeing. Its Generation 6 model cruises at 70 mph at around 3000 feet, with a maximum range of 90 miles. What sets the Generation 6 apart from the rest of this pack is its autonomous flight with human oversight. The company first held public eVTOL flight demonstrations in October 2023 during the “Festival of Flight” in Los Angeles to prove the concept.
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Vertical Aerospace VX4
Image Credit: Vertical Aerospace Vertical Aerospace’s VX4 has a carbon-fiber composite construction with 8 tilt-shift propellers for robust control and maneuvering. This U.K.-designed and -built eVTOL utilizes Honeywell avionics, Rolls-Royce propulsion, and an adapted Leonardo airframe. The VX4 has a cruise speed of 150 mph and range of 100 miles. How does that translate in the real world? Vertical Aerospace claims an astonishing 12-minute flight from Battersea to London Heathrow. Founder and CEO Stephen Fitzpatrick recently invested $50 million to keep to a 2027 launch date.
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Skydrive eVTOL
Image Credit: Skydrive SkyDrive, a Japanese eVTOL start-up with manufacturing partner Suzuki, has an unusual design for its one-pilot, two-passenger aircraft. “Most tourists travel as a couple and many local residents travel alone,” Keisuke Yasukochi, SkyDrive Global Intelligence Officer, told Robb Report, making the case for its three-seat configuration. Propelled by 12 electric motors for a cruise speed of 62 mph and modest range of nine miles, the SkyDrive will be featured at the Osaka World Expo in 2025 as part of its “Smart Mobility Expo.”
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EHang EH-216S
Image Credit: EHang Despite being last on the list, the EHang EH-216S is actually the first and only eVTOL on this list that has been certified for flight. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) gave it the green light for operation in 2023. This remotely piloted eVTOL’s modest set of specifications include a range of 22 miles, max speed of 80 mph, and 21 minutes of flight time. With 16 propellers and an effective ceiling of nearly 10,000 feet, its cockpit holds two passengers. For those who want a taste of what air taxis will be like, tourism flights in China are available now.
Source: Robb Report
