AeroMobil flying (source: SITA)
AeroMobil, the hybrid car-airplane design, has acquired a new investor, the Hungarian entrepreneur Zoltán Varga, the company informed the SITA newswire. The first investment for the company developing “a flying car” came from IPM Growth during the first half of 2017. Since then, it has also attracted further investors.
Past investments
Also in 2017, AeroMobil announced that it acquired a financial investment from private investor, Patrick Hessel – the founder and CEO of the c2i company specialising in the production of parts for the aviation and automotive industries.
"My investment will enable the company to transit to the production of the latest model and its prototypes,” Patrick Hessel wrote in a press release, as quoted by the Hospodárske Noviny (HN) daily. “The AeroMobile team is absolutely unique and has major potential to achieve a global change in passenger transport,” he added.
Patrick Hessel joining the project was partially the moment when the inventor, design engineer and co-founder (with Vauclík) of the project, Štefam Klein, left – as Hessel had bought most of his shares. Currently, Klein is developing a new model: AirCar.
Since the initial investment, AeroMobil has so far achieved several milestones, according to the company. After the testing and production phase of the AeroMobil 4.0 STOL (short take-off and landing), they introduced their AeroMobil 5.0 VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) concept – one of the first and only electric flying cars to allow flexible door-to-door travel on one vehicle. Another co-founder of AeroMobil, Juraj Vaculík, in charge of promotional and managerial issues, told SITA that besides this investment, the company’s aim is to have the vehicle ready for testing in the coming months so that it can get to its first customers in the coming years.
Obstacles to be overcome
Although originally, AeroMobil had planned to produce its vehicles already in 2017, now they foresee 2020 as the timing to enter the market. Until then, however, several obstacles have to be handled – apart from many technology and construction tasks, this involves mostly the mighty legal regulation, the HN daily wrote.
AeroMobil is a hybrid vehicle, moving on the ground as a regular car but also able to fly. Masterminded by Klein, who arrived with the idea as early as in 1990 but worked through several prototypes and models, and later involved Vaculík as the business partner, the project aimed at producing AeroMobils on a series basis (with the starting price of €1.2 – €1.5 million) is unique worldwide, the daily wrote.
Who is Zoltán Varga?
Zoltán Varga, a famous Hungarian media mogul and multi-millionaire, is the man behind the success of the Hungarian low-cost airline, WizzAir.
"New investors entering a project is always a crucial strategic decision, as it has long-term impact on the functioning and success of the company,” Vaculík commented on the step for HN.
