Flying Car Creator PAL-V to Build Production Plant in Gujarat

Netherlands-based flying car manufacturer, PAL-V has announced plans to set up a manufacturing plant in Gujarat, India, building off of its announcement to test the prototype in the area last week at the Economic Times Summit in Delhi.

The Pal-V Liberty, a road-capable personal gryocopter available starting at $399k USD

The company is in its final stages of certification in Europe as of February 2020.

The announcement also comes with new Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with the Principal Secretary of State, MK Das. This MoU will greatly help the flying car manufacturer in receiving all the necessary regulatory approvals to set up a new production plant in Gujarat. 

PAL-V chose Gujarat for its world-class infrastructure, relative ease of conducting business, and low cost basis for producing its flying car prototype at scale. The PAL-V Liberty has been under development for the past decade, will have the ability to transform from a car to a flight vehicle in less than 3 minutes, and can fly distances of over 500km.

The Liberty will be able to seat two people with 20kg of baggage. 

Why it matters: This announcement follows recent news from PAL-V last week at the Economic Times Summit in New Delhi and signals a significant investment in India for the final production and testing of its vehicles. In addition, another agreement with Kuwait Airways for suggests that that PAL-V may expect its first customers to be residents of the East. If the company meets its 2021 goal of delivering final vehicles to customers, it would be among one of the first to do so and usher in the era of aerial mobility.