Global freight forwarding and logistics company DSV Panalpina is transporting some futuristic freight – autonomous aerial vehicles (AAVs) for moving people or goods efficiently in cities. Under a partnership between Austrian aerospace group FACC and Chinese technology company EHang, the specialists transported the first prototypes by air freight.
EHang entered into a strategic partnership at the end of 2018 with the leading Austrian aerospace group FACC ,under which the AAVs will be optimized and made ready for serial production. A total of 300 aerial vehicles will be produced until the end of 2020 at FACC. DSV Panalpina has been tasked with transporting the first prototypes by air freight, including customs brokerage and last-mile delivery.
The business relations of former Panalpina with FACC go back to 15+ years. The first AAV prototype was transported in October 2018 and the freight forwarder’s teams have been helping to move them from Hong Kong airport to Linz, Austria.
The outlook for air mobility is promising. As the population of the world’s cities keep growing, it is projected that 5.2 billion people will live in urban regions by 2050, about one billion more than today. The proportion of urban dwellers will then be 68 percent of the world’s population, meaning that people will be affected by space constraints and traffic congestion on the roads each day.
Taking to the air and flying to work could be the next smart and sustainable solution for urban mobility. Demand for aerial vehicles is expected to soar to EUR 32 billion over the next decade, according to the Aerospace & Defense Radar report by consultancy firm Roland Berger.
