How The ePlane Company Is Making India’s Dream Of Flying Cars A Reality

Almost all future-looking news articles from the late 20th century predicted the existence of flying cars by the turn of the millennium. Although there have been multiple attempts to develop flying cars, challenges of viability, sustainability and use cases have kept the industry and innovators at bay.

However, now, we have solid timelines – and they look more aggressive than one can imagine. In its report – ‘The future of air mobility: Electric aircraft and flying taxis’ – McKinsey states that flying taxis could become the norm by 2030.

And when we look at startups like The ePlane Company, which is one of the few in the world to be developing flying taxis, the confidence that India will be at the forefront of this emerging technology strengthens manifold.

The ePlane Company was founded in 2017 by Professor Satya Chakravarthy of IIT Madras. 

As of now, the startup is developing a flying taxi and other aerial vehicles for passenger mobility and logistics support. The ePlane Company’s flying taxi, which is powered by electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) technology, is expected to disrupt India’s mobility sector in the next few years.

This is because the founder of the startup is aggressively moving towards plying the first passenger flights by 2025.

The startup attracted many eyeballs after it demonstrated its patented eVTOL capabilities at Aero India 2023 between February 13 and 17.

The startup already lapped up $6 Mn from Speciale Invest, CIIE.CO, FirstCheque, JavaCapital, and ShareChat’s Farid Ahsan and EaseMyTrip’s Prashant Pitti.

All Eyes On Making Mobility Future-Ready

Currently, the startup is trying to solve the key problems that shroud passenger and cargo movement, said Prof Chakravarthy, adding that traffic jams burn as much as $22 Bn a year in major metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata alone.

“Traffic is the main problem we are trying to solve, along with passenger movement in areas difficult to reach. Secondly, we are focussing on easing the movement of cargo,” said Prof Chakravarthy.

To enable faster and more efficient movement of passengers and cargo, the IIT Madras-incubated startup has developed four vehicles: three unmanned vehicles for cargo operations and a single-person vehicle for passenger mobility.

The passenger plane, called the e200, has a wingspan of 5.8 metres, giving it an equivalent footprint of about two cars. According to Prof Chakravarthy, the plane can fly at 160-200 km an hour, with one passenger and one driver.

The vehicle is completely electric and offers a range of around 200 km on a single charge. Further, being a passenger aircraft, the e200 will also fly much higher than conventional drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles (UAMs).

Prof Chakravarthy said that the e200 will fly between a corridor of 500 and 1,500 metres (1,500-4,000 feet). In contrast, The ePlane Company’s other drones will fly no higher than 400 feet, in line with the government’s ‘green zones’ policies under the Drone Rules, 2021.

Speaking more about the range, Prof Chakravarthy said, “You can get something like 200 km in a single charge. That’s pretty much the end goal in the foreseeable future. It doesn’t matter what size of aircraft we are doing, it would approximately be that kind of real range because larger aircraft require more batteries. And we have seen that there is no real advantage if we put in more batteries.”

Currently, there are two more prototypes in development at the startup. First, the e50, which is essentially a miniature version of the e200, was built to demonstrate the larger aircraft’s capabilities. The e50, with a footprint of 3×3 metres and a range of 200 kilometres, made its public debut at this year’s Aero India.

The e6, on the other hand, is an autonomous aircraft developed for end-to-end logistics. The small aircraft is capable of carrying a payload of up to 6 kilograms in one go.

What’s The Take Off Plan?

The startup will commence its operations as soon as the company receives the drone licence from the regulator.

On the cargo side, the startup just wants to sell the plane to operators for different cargo segments. But, for the passenger aircraft, it wants to set up operations itself and fly the aircraft.

While The ePlane Company is still in its pre-revenue stage, the startup expects to commence its cargo operations by late 2023 or early 2024. For the passenger aircraft, the mobility startup expects to generate revenue within the next two-three years.

When asked if The ePlane Company would become an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), the cofounder said the company does not want to manufacture planes and will only focus on designing, developing, prototyping and certifying planes and drones.

Therefore, for now, there are two clear revenue streams for the startup – operating passenger aircraft across cities and selling cargo drones.

Although e200 rides will cost passengers three times more than conventional taxis, the plane will be capable of covering the same distance up to 10 times faster. 

Prof Chakravarthy noted that this pricing would be competitive in markets such as MENA, India & SEA, Africa, LATAM and the UK. 

“Anything other than the US and Europe is possible. I think for a startup it is important to have less competition to thrive. We see more competition in the US, Europe and China,” Prof Chakravarthy explained.

Waiting For The Green Light To Leave The Hangar

One of the primary issues that The ePlane Company is facing is the certification process ahead of it, especially for its passenger aircraft. The cofounder conceded that the certification process is very rigorous.

For the DGCA to approve the aircraft, the startup needs to have at least five production-level prototypes in place. However, once the regulatory green light is received, the second biggest challenge will be to retain customers. 

“While millions across the world have dreamed of travelling in a flying car, it might be tricky for flying taxi companies to keep the customers coming back,” the Prof said. 

While waiting for certifications and licences from the government, the startup is focussing on developing an autonomous flight management system. 

The system would allow the startup to effectively manage flights on a route while maximising the range and number of rides. 

The ePlane Company is bringing what science fiction writers of the 20th century envisioned to be a mainstay in the 21st century – flying cars. While it is still early, one can’t help but be excited at the prospect of zooming over a city inside a flying car.

Meanwhile, for The ePlane Company, past the teething issues and the regulatory challenges, lie opportunities as vast as the sky it plans to take on.