Toyota flying car actually flies

A Toyota-backed flying car has successfully completed its first manned flight test.

The electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) Skydrive SD-03 single-seater completed a four-minute untethered flight within a heavily secured cage, never getting more than a metre or two off the ground.

“Of the world’s more than 100 flying car projects, only a handful has succeeded with a person on board,” Skydrive chief Tomohiro Fukuzawa told the Japan Times.

“I hope many people will want to ride it and feel safe.”

The ambitious Skydrive plan is to have a two-seat eVTOL in production by 2023 that’s capable of flying up to 30 minutes at a time at a top speed of around 70km/h. On-road speeds are will be slower.

Fukuzawa told the Japan Times the Skydrive flying car would be semi-autonomous from its production launch, but would include a pilot for safety reasons along with a passenger.

Initial flights will be over the sea rather than land, Fukuzawa explained.

“The ride will be only three to five minutes, compared with up to 20 minutes for land transportation, and will be fun and fast,” he said.

“Because there’s a pilot, only one person will be able to use the service at a time. We’re looking to have 1000 people enjoy the ride in the second year of the service in 2024.

“The initial model will fly basically on auto pilot, but it’s not 100 percent autonomous because a pilot would need to manoeuvre it in case of an emergency, for example.”

Flying cars are seen as a key way to cut traffic congestion in the world’s growing mega-cities and car-makers including Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai and Geely are all getting in on the eVTOL act, in partnerships with companies including Uber and Airbus.

In a promotional video, Skydrive shows an owner of its vehicle driving from his apartment along the road to a designated take-off area, then joining a stream of eVTOLs flying into the heart of Tokyo.

The same video depicts an international visitor arriving at Narita international airport, hopping into a Skydrive flying car and making a meeting in Tokyo within a few minutes.

This is not the only flying car project Toyota is involved with, as it has also invested in California’s Joby Aviation.

Toyota has backed Skydrive since 2012 when it was a volunteer project called Cartivator 2012. Fellow investors included Panasonic Corp and video game developer Bandai Namco. The Development Bank of Japan has also tipped in funds, reflecting government support for the concept of flying cars.

The Japanese government’s ultimate goal is using airspace to transport people in big cities, to avoid traffic jams, and providing a new mode of transport for mountainous areas and remote islands, or for use in case of natural disasters and other emergencies.

The potential rewards are lucrative for whoever can crack the flying car code, with 2019 Morgan Stanley research estimating demand could reach 158 trillion Yen ($A2 trillion) in 2040.

One design feature that sets Skydrive apart is its proposed two-seater is small enough to fit in the parking space of two conventional cars.

The quietness of the battery electric powertrain will be an additional aid for take-off and landing in built-up locations.