Flying car developer Alef Aeronautics Inc. is expanding its reach to the Chinese market.
The San Mateo electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) startup announced last week at the Asia Pacific Innovation & Capacity Symposium in Hong Kong it would begin taking pre-orders from Chinese consumers for its Model A aircraft.
"It's definitely more interesting to explore different usage in different countries based on the public transportation, based on the density," Alef CEO Jim Dukhovny said in an interview with the Business Journal. "[Model A] will be used in people's day to day usage. Is it going to replace public transportation? Is it going to be complimentary to public transportation? I really hope we can get at least that customer base, which can give us this feedback."
It's a move Dukhovny said the company is expecting great results from based on expected demand in China. According to a report by Porsche Consulting and Shanghai-based eVTOL aircraft maker Pantuo Aviation, China's eVTOL industry is expected to attract upwards of 30% of the global market share.
But Alef has been unable to accept Chinese pre-orders due to its payment system not being operational in Asia, Dukhovny said. The problem was fixed by allowing payments through WeChat Pay, a digital wallet service offered by instant message company Weixin, according to Dukhovny.
Of the same size and shape as a regular car with wheels that allow it to go on streets, the Model A has a system of rotors under its mesh-like skin designed to propel it in the air and allow it take off and land vertically. The company envisions the vehicle using its flying feature to navigate above traffic-locked roads and highways.
Alef has yet to begin its certification process with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the country’s version of the Federal Aviation Administration. Dukhovny said it’s because he is still trying to figure out what type of certification the company’s aircraft should apply for.
"The pain point with the (U.S. Federal Aviation Administration) is it is an extremely slow, extremely conservative and extremely bureaucratic process," he said. "The main pain point in China is it's more government focused. So priorities there are different. In China, I don't know how to work that system. I'm not sure anybody [not from there] does because it's a more complex system with different priorities."
In October, the CAAC fully certified an eVTOL from aircraft development company EHang Holdings Ltd. The Guangzhou-based company has developed a fully autonomous flying eVTOL that can carry up to two passengers. It's reportedly the first company in the world to get this certification.
With an eVTOL already certified in China, Dukhovny said it opens door for other companies, like Alef, to expand in that market.
Alef expects to sell its vehicle, which will seat one to two people in a bubble-like cabin, for $300,000 a piece. Consumers can pre-order one for $150 to get in the general queue or $1,500 to be in the priority group. As of Tuesday, the company has over 2,850 pre-orders, according to Dukhovny.
Alef was featured as one of nine startups selected for the Bay Area Inno Awards, a joint editorial project between the San Francisco Business Times and Silicon Valley Business Journal to shine a light on companies that are taking innovation to the next level.
In June, Alef secured a permit from the FAA to begin testing its Model A.
The specifically certification only allows the company to fly the Model A for research and exhibition purposes, the FAA told the Business Journal at the time. According to Dukhovny it allows the company to “move closer to bringing people an environmentally friendly and faster commute, saving individuals and companies hours each week,"
Inspired by the flying car in the "Back To The Future" films, Alef's founders established it in 2015 to turn fiction into reality. The company began testing and operating a full-sized prototype vehicle in 2018.
Since its founding, Alef has raised close to $14 million in venture funding and is valued at $21.4 million, according to PitchBook Data Draper Associates and Santa Clara Ventures are among its backers, according to PitchBook.
