The development of electric flying "cars" is currently in full swing in a good number of industrialized countries. Although the fact that each family has one of these vehicles in the garage for their daily trips is not yet visible on the near horizon, the truth is that these alternatives seem to start more closely as flying taxis.
And it is that, for short and medium distance journeys with departure or arrival in large cities, these vehicles may provide a solution (partial, yes) when it comes to avoiding traffic congestion at peak times in certain areas. One of the countries that is actively working on this new mobility proposal is Australia, which recently presented the Vertiia, the first eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) vehicle designed and manufactured in its territory.
It should not be overlooked that the future of these small aircraft may end up being linked to the world of automobiles. In the oceanic country, a major real estate development company called Pelligra and owner of former Australian car manufacturing plants for Ford and Holden (a brand belonging to General Motors that stopped selling in 2021) plans for them to change business.
From Pelligra, they believe that there is a great opportunity for Australia to play an important role in the emerging eVTOL sector. For this reason, they plan to move from the local conventional car manufacturing industry to this new segment of flying mobility. Its forecasts also go beyond this ambitious plan to reuse its production plants.
And it is that the real estate developer has also started a collaboration with Skyportz, a company specializing in eVTOL vehicle infrastructures. Between both firms, they plan to establish the first Australian network of vertiports, or what is the same, facilities for the takeoff and landing of this type of electric aircraft.
In this way, this country joins other parts of the world such as our continent and the United States or Japan, which are even more advanced in this field. For its part, Australia intends to harness its geostrategic potential to become a hub of the eVTOL industry in the Asia-Pacific region.
The aforementioned network of vertiports will take its first steps at existing airports and heliports, and will later be extended to various places in urban areas, from shopping malls and business parks to industrial estates. Skyportz has also partnered with large parking operators to be able to park the flying vehicles when they are not in the air.
There is no set date yet for the official debut of the first Australian vertiport, but the first units of the Vertiia vehicle are expected to be delivered in the year 2026. To see how the vertiports that will begin to spread to various parts of the world in the coming years, you just have to take a look at the video that accompanies this article.
