Las Vegas (dpa) - Hyundai is partnering with Uber for an air taxi ride-sharing project, the South Korean carmaker announced on Monday.
Uber has been developing air taxis for several years, and plans to use aircraft designed by several different manufacturers. Hyundai is the first automotive firm to partner up with the "Uber Elevate" project.
Images of the air vehicles, which resemble massive drones, were released as Hyundai appeared at the CES technology fair in Las Vegas.
The Hyundai air taxi, with electronic motors, will fly much more quietly than a helicopter and will also employ a parachute system for secure landing in case of emergency, according to Hyundai manager Youngcho Chi.
Ride-sharing app Uber plans to make the Elevate service commercially available in 2023, with the US cities of Los Angeles and Dallas and the Australian city of Melbourne to be the first places to get access to Uber flights.
The company introduced a helicopter service from New York's JFK Airport to Manhattan in 2019.
Hyundai also presented plans at CES for an autonomous S-Link vehicles, which will be designed to transport goods and people with no driver, but also could be used as a mobile business, office or hotel room.
Toyota presented a similar vision two years ago at the same technology event.
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