Advanced & Urban Air Mobility
Mobility is not just about cars anymore. This simple realization led to a widespread transformation of automobil clubs worldwide: From the automobile at heart to an all-around, member-centered mobility that incorporates different mobility elements. In the future, this might include aerial mobility, not only in cities.
Currently, billions of US-Dollars are flowing into the nascent industry of advanced & urban air mobility. Especially automotive OEMs like Toyota, Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai are building up their stake and extending business into the third dimension. What does that mean for mobility clubs?
Two general areas of usage are currently envisioned within FIA clubs: Use for club purposes, for example as part of air rescue services, as well as use by the club members, for example for personal mobility.
Emergency Rescue
The German ADAC has started to move into this space by entering into a purchase agreement with the German eVTOL (electrical vertical take-off and landing vehicle) start-up Volocopter. The ADAC wants to start testing in 2023.
Primary use will be the transport of emergency medical personnel. With eVTOL multicopters, like Volocopter wants to produce, emergency service doctors can not only be on the scene faster, but also reach a significantly larger number of patients over a larger area. This makes the work of doctors more efficient, and the multicopter is a suitable way to combat the worldwide shortage of emergency doctors.
Mobility Services
Primary targeted use case of companies in the eVTOL space is urban and regional passenger transport. One of the first public possibilities to use such a service will be the Olympics 2024 in Paris.
This will therefore be a part of the multimodal mobility reality that club members will experience. How this reality is formed, and whether it will really be of use to the public is however shaped now - from the integration of Vertiports, landing pads for eVTOL aircraft, to routing issues.