South Korean Kakao Mobility pre-orders 50 Vertical VX4 aircraft
Kakao Mobility, the largest Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform in South Korea with more than 30 million registered users and a subsidiary of South Korean internet giant, Kakao Corporation, has pre-ordered up to 50 Vertical VX4 aircraft for its popular taxi-hailing app, Kakao T.
The companies will establish a Joint Working Group (JWG) to drive the commercialisation of AAM services in South Korea, including the exploration of network and fleet planning, infrastructure requirements, regulatory development, and consumer awareness of eVTOL mobility solutions.
The JWG builds on Vertical’s existing consortium partnership with Kakao Mobility, LG Uplus, GS E&C, and the continued engagement with Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, for the K‑UAM Grand Challenge.
Vertical founder and CEO Stephen Fitzpatrick said: “With over 30 million registered users, Kakao Mobility is the go-to choice to hail a ride, and we look forward to people across South Korea being able to fly in a VX4 in the years to come.”
Kakao Mobility CEO Alex Ryu commented: “Kakao Mobility is the leading mobility platform and in an AI-enabled world with needs for faster, eco-friendly means of moving, we understand that UAM will be a game-changer in the near future.
“We will expand our business not only on the ground but in the sky through this partnership. We look forward to collaborating to complete the K‑UAM Grand Challenge successfully and into commercialisation shortly after.”
Kakao Mobility is a mobility super app provider in South Korea and offers over 20 mobility-related services such as on-demand taxi hailing, e‑bikes, designated driver services, parking, short-range logistics, and real-time turn-by-turn navigation through Kakao T app and Kakao Navi app.
Vertical already has strong ties to South Korea with Hanwha, a key partner for the VX4 certification aircraft. Vertical is leveraging Hanwha’s four decades of industrial expertise to collaborate on the development and supply of actuator systems for the VX4.
Last month, UK Bristol-based Stirling Dynamics, part of the engineering, technology and consultancy provider Expleo, announced a collaboration with Hanwha Aerospace to develop new technologies that will help power Vertical Aerospace’s VX4.
