Other People’s Car Project entires include the Music Car, which changes its color based on the driver’s music choices, and the Smart Key, a smart phone that can also start a car and monitor important functions. “We are no longer just building cars for, but also with customers and at the same time initiating a national dialog which gives us a deep insight into the design preferences, needs and requirements of Chinese customers,” said Luca de Meo, VW director of marketing. The point of the People’s Car Project was to engage with Chinese customers. Without electromagnetic roads, the Hover Car is not technically feasible, and VW doesn’t really care. It was a way for the company (whose name means “people’s car” in German) to get back to its roots in what it describes as its most important market. Volkwagen launched the People’s Car Project to develop a new way to mobilize the population. Forward propulsion will probably come from an electric motor, since it would be hard to find a small enough jet engine. VW did not explain how the Hover Car will do anything besides hover. The Hover Car can also drive itself, since it will already be following a pre-determined path. Electromagnetism would repel the vehicle from the ground, presumably the same way a mag-lev train operates. In reality, the Hover Car would need electromagnetic strips embedded in the road to function. It could also turn on a dime, because it is dime-shaped. Because of the lack of friction, the Hover Car could be very energy-efficient.
Right now, the hovering bubble car is powered by CGI, but, theoretically, thrusters on the back would provide forward motion. The Hover Car floats about a foot off the ground and seats two. It was recently presented to the public at the 2012 Beijing Motor Show. The VW Hover Car is one of three concepts to come out of the People’s Car Project the German company company launched in China last year. Will the car of the future look anything like the car of today? According to Volkswagen, it could look like a floating doughnut. Today, however, VW is far from alone among major automakers interested in the technology - some of its leading global rivals, including General Motors, Hyundai and Toyota, all hope to capitalize on the future of urban transit.
The world’s largest country - and car market - now accounts for the largest share of VW sales.įlying cars, of course, have been a subject of the imagination for decades, but the possibility became more realistic as battery technology accelerated and a handful of startups and aerospace companies started building prototypes. Volkswagen said it is particularly interested in the technology in China, where VW has taken over a pair of automotive joint ventures as Beijing relaxed its requirements on foreign car makers. The executives indicated the company is exploring possible partnerships - and vehicle concepts - for a drone that could be licensed as urban aerial transit becomes a reality. In a post on LinkedIn, CEO Herbert Diess and Stephan Woellenstein, the head of VW’s China operations, discussed how “vertical mobility” could be part of its future - that is, “flying cars.”
Volkswagen is in the midst of a dramatic, expensive transformation into a maker of electric vehicles in the wake of stricter emissions requirements and the global scandal over its rigging of diesel systems.īut company executives are reportedly already looking beyond the shift to battery vehicles - and even beyond emerging self-driving technologies. Company executives are exploring possible partnerships - and concepts - in China.
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