For years, writers and filmmakers alike have envisioned a future with flying cars. Indeed, these kinds of vehicles have always made for a fascinating futuristic trope. But now that future isn’t so far away. In fact, with a number of flying car stocks on the market, the future appears to be rapidly approaching as technology takes us to the next phase of aviation.
2023 will go down as a breakout year for artificial intelligence (AI), but another dominant theme has been the rise of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. These vehicles represent the future of aviation and are poised to help transform transportation.
As a result, flying car stocks have surged this year and many financial experts are highly bullish on the companies behind them. This includes InvestorPlace’s Luke Lango.
Will Flying Car Stocks Take to the Skies?
Lango and I recently sat down for InvestorPlace to discuss his bullish thesis on flying car stocks — and why he believes they will deliver significant gains for investors in the years ahead. He sees them as ushering in an entirely new medium of transportation, essentially combining the speed of helicopters with the comfort and practicality of automobiles that can move in urban areas. From his perspective, areas like the West Coast of the U.S. with limited public transportation options pose a key market for companies in the eVTOL space.
For example, these companies could fill an important demand by helping people fly quickly from San Diego to Los Angeles or from Las Vegas to San Francisco. As Lango notes, people make these trips constantly, yet there isn’t a means of transportation optimized for this type of travel:
“The way the industry is going to be set up is you’re going to create these vertiports in different areas. So in the residential neighborhoods and downtowns, near airports, near beaches, near popular tourist destinations, these vertiports that are essentially like landing pads for these eVTOL aircraft. And you’re going to hop in them, you’re going to drive to the vertiport with the parking lot, you’re going to park, you’re going to get out, you’re going to go into your eVTOL. It’s going to fly you to whatever vertiport you want to get to that’s going to be close to your final destination.”
Lango also notes that companies are likely to use eVTOLs to transport goods between cities as well, helping eliminate the need for vehicles such as tractor trailers. This means that flying car stocks will have yet another positive catalyst to propel them further as the sector takes off. But which companies in the space should investors be watching?
Cleared for Takeoff
The eVTOL producer that Lango names in this bullish thesis is Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY). He notes the air taxi innovator’s presence in California as a likely advantage. However, Joby’s focus spans far beyond the West Coast. The firm recently announced plans to build a $500 million production facility in Dayton, Ohio. Many others have expressed similar bullish takes on Joby as well, naming JOBY stock as one of the best flying car stocks to buy for the future of aviation.
“[We’re] seeing a lot of positive developments in that industry with regulatory hurdles being passed, with some aircraft being developed and being sold and contracts being signed, and some big airlines like [United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL)] getting into the business, too,” Lango notes. “So some really positive developments happening there […] I’m really excited about the 12 to 18 month outlook on these stocks from where we are today.”
Lango speculates that Joby’s flight vehicles will likely be rolled out for public use by early 2025. If the industry continues moving at this trajectory, flying car stocks could deliver powerful returns for investors in the near future. For investors, this means a key opportunity to gain exposure before Joby and its peers take off.
On the date of publication, Samuel O’Brient did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
