Woburn, Mass. – A Geely flying car could be taking to the skies. China-based Geely Automotive Holdings has reportedly acquired U.S. flying car startup Terrafugia.
Neither company has released any details of the transaction or even confirmed the deal. However, the South China Morning Post, an English-language daily newspaper in Hong Kong, first reported the news.
Geely is the parent company of Volvo and Lotus car brands. The company took the Swedish car manufacturer Volvo from the brink of failure to being one of the most popular luxury car brands.
To be sure, speculation and imagination are running rampart considering what Geely’s deep pockets would be able to do with the flying car company.
A group of MIT engineers formed Terrafugia 11 years ago. They wanted to create a viable flying car that would meet FAA Light Sport Aircraft regulations and also function as a practical road vehicle. So not just a flying car, but a car that could turn into an airplane when needed.
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The design they produced is called Transition. The vehicle has a two-seat cabin with wings that can be folded down. The company posted the wings could be unfolded and the vehicle ready for flight in under one minute. However, a runway is required for takeoff and landings. So a driver couldn’t just fly away from a traffic jam.
The Transition has a starting price of just under $280,000. However, Terrafugia has never been able to deliver on its mission. For years the company has teased the public with flying-car headlines. Yet again and again only to push back the deliver date.
The South China Morning Post writes that this the first time a Chinese company has tried to “capitalize on a fancy yet exotic concept of a passenger vehicle that flies like an airplane in the air and drives like a car on the road.”
Although it could be years, and more likely decades, before flying cars are common place, China’s horrible traffic makes the country a great launch pad for first taking cars to the skies.
“It makes sense for Geely to first go in and acquire the know-how for their long-term agenda,” Yale Zhang, the managing director with Automotive Foresight, was quoted as saying in the newspaper report.
Unlike electric or self-driving cars, only a few companies have tinkered with flying cars. Earlier this year, Uber announced it was rolling out a fleet of flying cars in Dallas and Dubai in 2020. And Google’s co-founder Larry Page unveiled a flying car concept, Kitty Hawk, back in April.
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