Malaysian Minister's Plans for Car of the Future are Flying High

(Bloomberg) -- Malaysia says it is trying to develop its first flying car, but it won’t let the general public drive it.

Malaysia’s flying car will instead be developed for transport-service companies, Bernama news agency said, citing the country’s Entrepreneur Development Minister Mohd Redzuan Yusof. Companies are queuing up for the vehicle, including Grab, which wants to use it as a taxi, the report said.

Malaysia joins at least a dozen companies such as Boeing Co., Airbus SE and Uber Inc. that are trying to develop flying cars.

And it’s not all just pie in the sky. The Kitty Hawk vehicle, backed by Alphabet Inc. founder Larry Page, took its maiden flight in New Zealand last year. Japan has also joined the race with plans for aerial taxis and delivery trucks by the late 2020s.

Malaysia hopes to unveil the car’s prototype, developed using local technology, this year, Bernama said, citing the minister. Redzuan said the vehicle will be safe and capable of flying at low altitude at a reasonable speed.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kyunghee Park in Singapore at kpark3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, John McCluskey, Stanley James

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.