22 August 2019 || 4 min read
The work to complete Malaysia’s first flying car is 85% complete, according to Malaysia’s Entrepeneur Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof. The prototype is currently under construction in a site in Japan, where the Aerodyne Group is currently overseeing the vehicle’s development.
A model of the planned prototype was unveiled at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace 2019 (Lima ’19) exhibition
After announcing their intentions to produce a national flying car earlier this year, the vehicle could soon be unveiled in the near future. For now, the prototype resides in Japan, as the country is an economic powerhouse with the supporting ecosystem to develop the flying car industry, according to the minister.
“I am going to Japan in September for the Aviation Conference and I hope to get to see the almost complete (flying) car that we will be going to bring back towards the end of the year, ” said Malaysia’s Entrepeneur Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof, ““Whether the flying car will be launched by year-end, it would depend on Malaysia’s ecosystem for flying cars, especially in term of availability to fly at that time”.
Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof
According to the minister, a special zone in Cyberjaya has already been prepared exclusively for testing and developing the prototype. Once the flying car is finished, the future for Malaysia’s possible air taxi industry depends on their native ecosystem. The sooner Malaysia can develop an ecosystem ready to support such an industry, the sooner Malaysia could promote their own air taxi industry.
The Ministry of Entrepreneur Development is also in contact with other ministries involved with the aviation sector in order to create available space for flying cars in Malaysia. While the flying car is technically a private initiative, the government and specifically the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development hopes to be heavily involved with the process of developing and manufacturing the flying car in order to create their own budding air taxi industry.
Why it’s important: With a successful presentation of the flying car prototype, Malaysia could soon end up supporting the project with the full backing and funding of the government. UAM presents an exciting prospect and potential solution to the transportation issues currently plaguing dozens of countries, and could be the solution for Malaysia in the near future.
Sources // Malay Mail
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Interesting point of view. Wondering what you think of its implication on society as a whole though? People obviously get frustrated when it begins to affect them locally. I will be back soon and follow up with a response.