Yesterday (165438+1October 13), Geely official website officially announced that it would acquire Terrafugia Flying Automobile Company of the United States, which brought a satisfactory end to the "transnational marriage" that had been negotiated for more than a year.
The name Terrafugia may be unfamiliar to readers in China, but this company has a long history. Founded in 2006 by five high flyers of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), this startup is widely regarded as the most technologically advanced flying car company in the world.
Although it is unclear about Geely's strategic intention to acquire Terrafugia, it is very exciting to think that Geely plans to realize mass production of flying cars in 20 19.
Putting wings on cars and flying in the sky is a picture that my predecessors probably couldn't even dream of, and it is also possible to turn China into a reality in the future.
▲Terrafugia TF-X concept car?
Geely officially announced the acquisition agreement.
According to public media reports, Geely's negotiations to acquire Terrafugia began last year.
In August this year, it was reported that the acquisition agreement had been approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which meant that one of the biggest potential obstacles had been cleared.
165438+ 10/3, this long negotiation finally settled. Geely Holding Group announced that it has reached a final agreement with Terrafugia Flying Automobile Company of the United States to acquire all the business and assets of Terrafugia. The transaction has been approved by all relevant regulators, including CFIUS.
Geely official website said that Terrafugia is committed to developing new modes of travel, focusing on the design and manufacture of flying cars, and will have cutting-edge advantages in innovative technology, engineering and production in the future.
▲ Image source: Geely official website
Up to now, Terrafugia has successfully developed a number of well-run prototypes, and plans to launch the first flying car in 20 19, and the world's first flying car with vertical take-off and landing in 2023.
In the future, Terrafugia's registered place and headquarters will remain in the United States, and Geely Holding Group will use its deep technical expertise and innovative experience accumulated in the automobile industry to provide help and support for Terrafugia.
Geely Holding Group said that Terrafugia's American R&D team tripled in the past quarter. In the future, technicians from China will also participate in R&D and production.
Li Shufu, chairman of Geely Holding Group, said:
"Flying cars are a very exciting field. Terrafugia team embraces the dream of flying cars and keeps pushing this dream into reality.
I believe Terrafugia can change the way of travel in the future and lead the development of a new industry. This investment reflects our high recognition of Terrafugia's vision.
At the same time, we will fully support Terrafugia to achieve its strategic goals by integrating the global resources and innovation capabilities of Li Holding Group. "
▲ Image source: Terrafugia Company
Carl Dietrich, founder and chief technology officer of Terrafugia, said:
"Our vision of creating Terrfugia is to change the way people travel and hope to use flying car products to create a new dimension of personal travel.
Now, as a part of Geely Holding Group, we are confident to realize this vision and realize the success of commercial operation through the global cooperation advantages of the Group. "
Vertical take-off and landing, flying cars can alleviate traffic jams?
The company's original vision is to achieve mass production of flying cars between 20 15 and 20 16 years.
Now, although they haven't finished the initial schedule, after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars, they have built two generations of prototypes, Transition and TF-X, and achieved quite amazing vertical take-off and landing functions.
The second generation TF-X concept car does not need a runway. It only needs passengers to input the destination in the map, and the car can take off vertically, fly to the destination and land vertically under the control of the intelligent system. TF-X uses hybrid power, and its engine with a power of 300 HP can also be automatically charged.
TF-X can cruise in the air at a speed of 200 miles per hour (about 320 kilometers), with a total flight distance of 500 miles, about 800 kilometers!
For the traffic jams in big cities in China, this kind of car with wings that can take off immediately can undoubtedly alleviate the traffic jams. However, another management problem is whether the driver of a flying car should take another pilot's license.
▲ Image source: Terrafugia Company
Many giants are aiming at the field of flying cars.
In addition to Geely, other giants are also targeting the flying car market.
10 year1On October 28th, Uber released a 98-page document introducing its Uber promotion plan.
165438+1On October 9th, Uber signed an agreement with NASA to develop a flying taxi in 2020. The project aims to build a vertical automobile transportation network, which can not only reduce commuting time, but also alleviate the exhaust pollution problem in big cities.
▲ Uber elevation
Holden, chief product director of Uber, also said that he expected Uber to complete its first flight demonstration in 2020 and provide commercial services by 2023. In his view, in the future, passengers can take off and land at the push of a button, which will be a brand-new way of travel.
Flying taxis are said to greatly reduce costs. In the past, it took two hours to take a taxi between San Francisco and San Jose, and the cost was11USD, while flying a taxi shortened the time to 15 minutes. According to Uber, the cost of future air traffic routes will be reduced to $20.
On September 5th, it was reported that Lillium, a German start-up company developing electric "flying taxis", said that it had completed a new round of financing of 90 million US dollars, with an Internet company in China as the lead investor.
▲ Image source: Lillium Company
At present, Lillium is developing five "flying taxis" and plans to conduct manned flight test around 20 19. With the approval of the regulatory authorities, the company plans to launch the "flying taxi" service in the future 10.
Looking forward to the emergence of flying cars!