Boeing Bets on Autonomous Air Taxis and GM Makes a Massive EV Investment

Flying taxis have been dreamed about for decades, but the combination of several technologies available today may make them a reality soon. Boeing has announced a $450 million investment in eVTOL aircraft developer Wisk, who intend to make mass producible, autonomous and electrically powered light aircraft for air taxi service. Wisk has flown prototypes under FAA’s Experimental certification, and the company sees no insurmountable technological hurdles that prevent safe flight operations with passengers. Pending FAA approval, Wisk anticipates that a fleet of autonomous air taxis could be flying in as little as five years after certification.General Motors recently announced a major redevelopment of the company’s Hamtramck assembly operations to accommodate electric vehicle production. GM has dramatically expanded that EV investment with a plan to spend more than $7 billion in four Michigan sites to increase battery cell and electric light truck manufacturing capacity. The investment represents a record for General Motors. Centrepiece of the plan will be Orion Assembly, site of much of GM’s pioneering work in flex line technology, which will receive $4 billion of the overall investment. Light truck production is expected to begin in 2024.Access all episodes of This Week in Engineering on engineering.com TV along with all of our other series.