South Korea aims to domestically commercialise the aerial mobility market by 2025, reports the Korea Herald, to address the severe traffic congestion issues in urban areas such as Seoul.
Working in partnership with Hyundai Motor Group, the South Korean government hopes to start aerial mobility services in 2025 with two sets of terminals, where personal air vehicles (PAVs) would travel in predetermined routes over major cities. By 2030, the government aims to expand from two to ten terminals, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
“The Ministry will join hands with Hyundai Motor Group and other local companies to push forward the UAM commercialisation project,” said a Ministry official. It is not yet known which companies the government will be working with alongside Hyundai.
The government expects the aerial mobility market to reach USD11 billion by 2040, as aerial mobility services work with existing transportation infrastructure in order to ease traffic congestion in major urban areas. For this purpose, the PAVs in use will feature a range of 30 to 50 kms. The Ministry additionally noted that promotion of such a service would require a “comprehensive industrial ecosystem”, where companies work to cover all phases of an aerial mobility service includng production of PAVs, maintenance, repair and overhaul services, as well as flight control systems and insurance services.
Recently, Hyundai Motor Services revealed their S-A1 personal air vehicle (PAV) concept at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Featuring an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing design, the S-A1 will hold 5 people including the pilot, and Hyundai will continue to keep an avenue open for potential autonomisation in the future.
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