AirBus Plans To Make Flying Cars By 2018

The name is "Airbus" is a brand usually associated with airplanes and other things that FLY. Now, they want to add cars to the other things that fly. No jokes. Airbus CEO Tom Enders has announced that they hope to have a working prototype by next year.

According to Reuters,  he made this known at the DLD digital tech conference in Munich on Monday.

"One hundred years ago, urban transport went underground, now we have the technological wherewithal to go above ground,"

"We are in an experimentation phase, we take this development very seriously," he said, adding that Airbus recognized such technologies would have to be clean to avoid further polluting congested cities. 

He said using the skies could also reduce costs for city infrastructure planners. "With flying, you don't need to pour billions into concrete bridges and roads."

Airbus last year formed a division called Urban Air Mobility that is exploring concepts such as a vehicle to transport individuals or a helicopter-style vehicle that can carry multiple riders. The aim would be for people to book the vehicle using an app, similar to car-sharing schemes.

Enders said Airbus, as the world's largest maker of commercial helicopters, wanted to invest to make the most of new technologies such as autonomous driving and artificial intelligence, to usher in what amounts to an era of flying cars.

"If we ignore these developments, we will be pushed out of important segments of the business," he said.

Well, We'll be seeing more and more driverless cars on the road in the coming years, if automakers get their way. But if Airbus has its way, self-driving cars will be old news sooner rather than later.