By Chris Donkin

MWC keynoter set to reveal secrets of flying car

Wednesday keynoter and first time MWC exhibitor Alef Aeronautics CEO Jim Dukhovny is set to showcase the technology behind what is claimed to be the world’s first flying car, by traditional definitions, with a half-sized working model set to be parked-up on its stand.

In an interview for Mobile World Live’s Unwrapped MWC24 preview event, Dukhovny said the company hoped to commence commercial manufacture of the vehicle by the end of 2025 but already had a fully functioning prototype.

He added the machine could achieve over an hour’s flight, with MWC marking the first public appearance of a working model, albeit at half size to the expected final design. Alef Aeronautics has previously toured a display model.

“A lot of people claim to have a flying car,” Dukhovny said, but explained these were “pretty much electrical helicopters” with the vehicles requiring a runway to take off. Its model is claimed to have vertical take-off and “drives like a car, looks likes a car, [and] parks like a car”.

This, he asserted, met the traditional definition of a flying car and had previously “never been done in history” due to the restrictions of the laws of physics.

Dukhovny is appearing in Keynote 9 Partners to Game Changers at midday on Wednesday. The half-sized model car will be showcased in Hall 6.