Flying car first run limited to 500 units; due in 2020

The first Slovak flying cars will be produced in a limited series of 500 units, with their maker AeroMobil already taking pre-orders and gearing up to start supplying the vehicles to customers in early 2020, TASR learnt from AeroMobil's cofounder and CEO Juraj Vaculík on Tuesday. "We're making a car that will be a better car because it will also be a plane, and it will be a better plane because it will also be a car," said Vaculík. Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Ministry State Secretary Lukáš Parízek highlighted the fact that the AeroMobil is touted as a symbol of modern Slovakia. "For its creation, AeroMobil tapped into technological progress along with personal ingenuity and audacity," said Parízek. According to Vaculík, the AeroMobil 4.0 differs from its earlier iterations in that its design observes regulatory requirements that apply to both cars and planes. No aeroplane will be as safe as the AeroMobil, as - unlike the AeroMobil - planes aren't fitted with airbags and pyrotechnic seatbelt technology, he said. The company has obtained more than 14 patents that are valid for the EU, US and Chinese markets, with additional patent proceedings still under way. The price of an AeroMobil 4.0 is set at between €1.2 million and €1.5 million. Having said that, the company aims for its flying car to be more of a service, such as a taxi that anybody could afford.