Audi, Airbus and Italdesign have partnered to present a prototype of their first 'flying taxi concept', at the Amsterdam Drone week. The Audi flying taxi concept showcased at the event is a 1:4 model and is dubbed, 'Pop.Up Next'.
Audi and Airbus subsidiary Voom, will soon conduct tests using helicopters in large cities such as Sao Paulo and Mexico City. This will be to determine how customers might actually use the ‘flying taxi' services. Audi will also be testing a flying taxi near its headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany, with preparations already underway.
Bernd Martens, Audi Board Member and President (Audi subsidiary Italdesign), stated, "More and more people are moving to cities. And more and more people will be mobile thanks to automation."

"In future senior citizens, children, and people without a driver's license will want to use convenient robot taxis. If we succeed in making a smart allocation of traffic between roads and airspace, people and cities can benefit in equal measure."
He further added, "Services like this help us to understand our customers' needs better. Because in the future, flying taxis will appeal to a wide range of city dwellers. With Pop.Up Next we are simultaneously exploring the boundaries of what is technically possible. The next step is for a full-size prototype to fly and drive."
Thoughts On The Audi Flying Taxi Concept

The showcase of the flying taxi concept from Audi is to help convince people about the benefits of new technology, batteries, infrastructure, regulation and certification. The Audi Flying Taxi concept also showcases us the future of Urban flying Mobility, combining autonomous driving and electric power.