In a First: Ride-hailing Major Uber to Invest Millions in France, Build Flying Taxis

Uber Technologies Inc. plans to develop an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft in France. The company has selected the country as the future home for flying taxi production while announcing to spend €20 million ($23.4 million) over the next five years.

As per a report appeared on CNN, it’s learnt that the company will open a new R&D centre in Paris, its first technology hub outside of North America.

“France is a perfect home for our next step forward with its strong history of research and development, world-class engineers and a unique role in aviation worldwide,” Uber said in a statement.

There are several other cities where Uber has R&D offices such as Pittsburgh, Toronto, and San Francisco. They have been working on Uber’s Elevate flying car program while focussing on the company’s self-driving technology.

However, the Advanced Technologies Center in Paris will focus solely on flying cars. The centre will open later this year.

“The centre will conduct research into airspace management, real-time communication networks, energy storage, and charging systems,” the statement added.

The CNN report further added that Uber has been working on its flying car program since 2016. At least a year later the United States Space agency NASA became a partner for the program.

“We want to launch a flying car network by 2023,” the statement further added.