LAHORE MIRROR (Monitoring Desk)– A Japanese start-up is hoping to convince motorists to swap their cars for a $680,000 (£495,000) hoverbike.
ALI Technologies’ XTurismo Limited Edition went on sale in Japan, earlier on Wednesday.
Electronics giant Mitsubishi and footballer Keisuke Honda are two backers of the Tokyo-based company.
ALI Technologies says the hoverbike can fly for 40 minutes at up to 100km/h (62mph) on a single charge.
The company aims to have manufactured 200 single-rider 300kg (47-stone) hoverbikes by mid-2022.
Each is equipped with a conventional engine and four battery-powered motors.
“Until now, the choice has been to move on the ground or at scale in the sky,” ALI Technologies chief executive Daisuke Katano said.
“We hope to offer a new method of movement.”
Overcrowding is a big problem for Tokyo’s 13.5 million residents.
The high-tech city is the most populous metropolitan area in the world.
But current laws will prohibit the hoverbikes from flying over Japan’s busy roads.
Although, Mr Katano hopes rescue teams will use them to reach inaccessible areas.
SOURCE: BBC NEWS
