Supernal LLC, the urban air mobility (UAM) division of Hyundai Motor Group, is aiming to debut its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, the S-A2, at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, with a target to produce 100 to 200 units annually, industry sources revealed on Friday.
The S-A2 concept, which was first showcased at CES 2024, is the first flying car unveiled by a South Korean company. Designed to cruise at speeds of 200 kilometers per hour and reach altitudes up to 500 meters, the aircraft has not yet conducted official flight tests. Technology demonstrations with a life-size model are scheduled by the end of this year, and prototype flights are expected to take place in 2025.
The eVTOL measures 10 meters in length and 15 meters in width, featuring eight tilting rotors on its main wing, a V-shaped tail modeled after Supernal’s logo, and can carry five people, including the pilot. Supernal officials expressed confidence in their future production capacity. “We expect our UAM production capacity to increase to several thousand units by the end of the 2030s,” said a company representative.
Despite South Korea lagging behind the U.S. and China in the UAM sector, where companies like XPeng and EHang are launching flying cars this year, Supernal’s efforts are key to Hyundai’s advanced air mobility plans. South Korea’s UAM roadmap, released in 2020, anticipates commercialization of UAM vehicles by the end of 2025.
