Hyundai and Kia have taken the first step in the Indonesia Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) project. AAM refers to an air transport system that moves people and cargo to areas that were previously not served or underserved through aircraft electrification.
On the 29th local time, Hyundai and Kia held a public event at Samarendah Airport near the new capital of Indonesia to demonstrate AAM-Shuttle technology. They announced that they will start full-fledged activities by launching a shuttle application that allows reservation and payment for ground-to-air integrated mobility, including AAM.
Hyundai and Kia called a Hyundai County electric bus modified for the demonstration through the shuttle app and moved to the airport hangar, the event venue. For the AAM aircraft demonstration, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute’s AAM prototype ‘OPPAV’ was used. OPPAV took off following a pre-agreed flight path, flew about 2 km, and reached the destination.
Indonesia, known for its vast land area and over 18,000 islands, has high growth potential for the AAM business due to the challenges in land transportation development. Hyundai has been cooperating with the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation and the capital administration since 2022 to develop future mobility solutions and promote local AAM commercialization.
Kim Cheol-woong, in charge of Hyundai and Kia’s AAM project, stated, “For the future air mobility to take root, it requires cooperation across the entire aviation industry, not just aircraft development.” He also mentioned that SuperNell, an independent subsidiary established by the Hyundai Group in 2020 for AAM business, will continue research and development with the goal of commercializing AAM by 2028.