Audi might be dealing with the emissions scandal fallout, but that doesn’t stop the brand from taking up cool projects.
The company has teamed up with Airbus for Urban Air Mobility project, where both companies will test the air-taxis in the Ingolstadt region.
left to right: Dr Christian Lösel (Mayor of Ingolstadt), Dr Reinhard Brandl (Member of the Bundestag), Grazia Vittadini (Airbus CTO), Dorothee Bär (Minister of State for Digital Affairs), Andreas Scheuer (Federal Minister of Transport), Bram Schot (Interim CEO and Member of the Board of Management for Sales and Marketing at Audi AG)
A letter of intent was signed on this subject with partners from the fields of politics and industry, at the Federal Chancellery in Berlin on Wednesday afternoon.
“Connected, electric and autonomous cars will make urban traffic more comfortable and cleaner and will save space – that means better quality of life for people in cities. This is where mobility in the third dimension can make a valuable contribution in the future,” said Bram Schot, Interim CEO, Audi. “We welcome the involvement of the city of Ingolstadt and support the development of the region as a test field for air taxis,” he added.
Pop.Up Next – designed by VW Group subsidiary Italdesign, is a modular concept where an ultra-light two-seater passenger cabin can be attached either to a car module or to a drone. The interiors feature a 49-inch touchscreen with speech and face recognition, and eye-tracking as well.
Airbus has already carried out trials of its helicopter ride-hailing service Voom in São Paulo, and since March 2018, the service is also available in Mexico City. The companies are expected to use the same Voom platform as a premium mobility service in Ingolstadt.
In Singapore, Airbus is working with the country’s National University on the Skyways project to test a parcel transportation system using autonomous drones.
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