Last year, Hyundai Motor Group started its own urban air mobility division, which is exploring not only flying taxis but also new hubs on the ground to connect passengers traveling via multiple modes.
Archer and Joby are two of three eVTOL companies that have announced plans to go public via mergers with special-purpose acquisition companies so far in 2021, at valuations of $2.7 billion for Archer and $6.6 billion for Joby. A third, German air taxi startup Lilium, has plans for such a merger with Qell Acquisition Corp., a blank-check company led by former GM executive Barry Engle.
“An intermodal offering is the future of mobility,” says Pam Cohn, global COO of Hyundai Urban Air Mobility. “Just playing in one of the different modes, or just playing on the ground, isn’t necessarily going to be the best solution for many cities, and it also leaves a lot of value on the table for auto players that could provide a more holistic offering.”
Such value represents an opportunity for traditional automakers. Even with sales of personally owned vehicles remaining robust, mobility has expanded in recent years to include ride-hailing, scooters and now aerial transport, which investors have recognized with particular fervor. They pumped $3.8 billion into passenger air mobility in the first quarter of 2021, according to PitchBook research.
“Transportation problems cannot be solved with cars alone,” said Asad Hussain, senior analyst of emerging tech at PitchBook. “Even with autonomous cars, we still have congestion, and cities are requiring a shift to multimodal that needs to happen.”