Malaysia’s cancelled flying car project might be your next taxi ride in Bali

Remember Malaysia's failed flying car project? No, not the model made out of portable fans, the one that was promised by a company called EastCap Berhad. Well, it might be returning soon, as a flying taxi in Bali.

Bali is a truly mystical island paradise but if there’s one issue the island is facing, it’s congestion. Though one of the faster ways to go around the island is by renting a scooter or a kapchai, an Indonesian private vehicle importer has found another solution with a fleet of electric flying taxis.

These fleet of flying taxis are brought over by Prestige Image Motorcars and are EHang 216 passenger drones developed by Guangzhou EHang Intelligent Technology Co. The first unit will be undergoing test flights in Bali in October 2021 after obtaining the necessary permits and approvals.

Also read: The first flying car in the world is now road legal in Europe, but its still grounded

Though these taxis are technically autonomous drones, they only allow seating capacity of up to 2 passengers. Oh, there are no pilots/drivers in these flying cabs but they are monitored and operated from a command-and-control centre located on the ground.

The EHang 216 measures in at 5.61 m wide and 1.77 m tall which makes it relatively small. It weighs around 360 kg with a payload capacity of 220 kg. Its eight arms each has a pair of electric motors that are connected to the propellers.

The drone has a cruising speed of 130 km/h with a top speed of 160 km/h. Meanwhile, EHang claims that the batteries provide up to 35 km of range.

Some of you futurists might be excited at a proposition of a flying car/taxi and some might have doubts on an autonomous flying drone’s capabilities but it is interesting to see how will this program take off (pun truly intended).

Also read: Not quite flying cars yet, MAHB to test Geely-funded Volocopter air taxis

Perhaps the prospect of a flying car might bring some Malaysians back to the time when the Pakatan Harapan government proposed a ‘national’ flying car project. Some might also recall the name EHang 216 which was supposed to be launched locally as the SuperDron but that project is seemingly shelved when the previous government snuck in took over.

Also read: Sorry Malaysia, looks like Korea will beat us to the race for flying cars with Hyundai

Back on topic, Prestige Image Motorcars aims to provide the flying taxi service to the public in 2022 once the tests are done. Would you like to give a shot traversing around Bali in a pilotless drone?