‘Drone taxi’ that can carry four passengers could revolutionise the way we commute

A tech firm has revealed plans for commuter drone taxi that can carry four passengers.

German aviation outfit Volocopter has shown off a concept craft with a top speed of 155mph.

The electric vehicle has a range of 62 miles and is designed to cruise at 111mph, a spokesman said.

“This electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) is designed to connect suburbs to cities and complements the company’s existing family of aircraft for the intra-city mission.

“VoloConnect’s distinctive hybrid lift and push design is expected to achieve certification within the next five years.

“The compact aircraft layout, necessary for urban missions, is naturally stable and highly efficient during forward flight while maintaining a low stall speed.”

CEO Florian Reuter added: “We are confident that this aircraft family, and the years of experience and leading innovation on which it’s founded, will pioneer the way for electric UAM (Urban Air Mobility) services to launch commercially and internationally.”

The VoloConnect is designed with six electrical motors and rotors, with a pair of propulsive fans jutting out behind, engadget reports.

Mr Reuter said the concept “embodies the next dimension of our mission to offer affordable, efficient and sustainable flight mobility for cities around the globe.”

Volocopter late last year decided to open up reservations for its first commercial flights.

Passengers were offered 15 minutes rides for £259 (€300), with a 10 percent deposit up-front.

The flights currently run in Singapore with Volocopter pledging to start running a commercial service within the next three years.

In March it was reported that business travellers could soon be flying between European cities in an all-electric airliner.

It was subject to a project then just announced by a French start-up getting off the ground.

According to a report in The Times, the 19-seat Electric Regional Aircraft is under development by Aura Aero, a Toulouse-based company founded in 2018 by former Airbus engineers, which, it says, aims to be the “Tesla of aviation”.

The company has begun production of a new two-seater plane made of carbon-wood, a lightweight composite material.

It is confident that it can meet its ambitious timetable in a race to beat rivals in Europe, the US and Israel and overcome the formidable weight and range barriers to commercial electric passenger flight.

The plan is to deliver the first commercial craft, powered by six electric motors driving propellers, in five years.

While more than 100 projects are under way around the world, producing drone-like vertical take-off air taxis, fixed-wing, emissions-free flight has been constrained by the mass of the batteries needed to travel even short distances.

About €10m (£8.5m) has been invested in the project, including about €4m from France’s Occitanie regional council. A further €40m is due to be raised in the summer.