how many flying cars are there

[RoseFitz]

As of late 2023, the number of fully certified, privately owned flying cars you can actually buy and fly is essentially zero. True flying cars—road-legal vehicles that can also take off, fly, and land like an aircraft—are not yet in commercial production or available for public purchase. The vehicles you see in headlines are almost exclusively prototypes or limited-edition models for testing and demonstration. The realistic number of functional flying car prototypes and pre-production units globally is estimated to be well under 100.

However, the aviation industry is on the cusp of a major shift with the development of eVTOLs (electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft). Often conflated with flying cars, eVTOLs are designed primarily for urban air mobility (UAM) services, like air taxis, and are not intended for driving on roads. Several companies have made significant progress, with a handful of these aircraft having conducted successful manned test flights.

Company/Model	Type	Status (as of 2023)	Key Detail
PAL-V Liberty	Roadable Gyrocopter	The first to accept reservations.	Requires a gyroplane pilot license; not a car-plane hybrid in a conventional sense.
Terrafugia Transition	Roadable Light Sport Aircraft	Prototype stage; FAA approval pathway complex.	Folds wings for road use; production timeline remains uncertain.
Alef Aeronautics 'Model A'	Electric, bi-directional flying car	FAA granted Special Airworthiness Certification.	Pre-sales opened; full certification and production are years away.
Joby Aviation S4	eVTOL Air Taxi	In advanced FAA certification process.	Over 1,000 test flights; aiming for commercial passenger service by 2025.
Volocopter 2X	eVTOL Air Taxi	Public demo flights in various cities.	Targeting approval under EASA (Europe) for aerial ride-sharing.

The primary barriers remain stringent safety certification from bodies like the FAA and EASA, developing the necessary infrastructure (vertiports), battery technology for sufficient range, and establishing new air traffic control systems for low-altitude flight. While the number of true flying cars is currently negligible, the progress in eVTOLs suggests that the first commercial passenger services could begin within the next few years, initially in specific urban corridors.

[Elle]

If you mean a car I can drive to the grocery store and then fly over traffic, the answer is none that you can actually buy. A few companies have built working prototypes that look incredible in videos, but they're not for sale to the public. The ones getting close are more like small electric helicopters or planes that can be driven short distances on the road. The real action is in electric air taxis, which companies like Joby are testing. They're aiming to have a service where you hail a ride in the sky, but you won't be parking one in your garage.

[LenaLee]

"Flying car" is a bit of a misnomer that overpromises. The engineering challenge of creating a vehicle that is both safe on the road and efficient in the air is immense. Current regulatory frameworks for aircraft and automobiles are completely separate, making certification a nightmare. The more viable near-term solution is the eVTOL—a dedicated aircraft for short urban hops. From a technical standpoint, we have demonstrators, not consumer products. The number of airworthy and road-legal combined vehicles is in the single digits globally, and they are all essentially hand-built research vehicles.

[BriannaAnn]

Think less "Jetsons" and more "sky Uber." You won't own one for a long, long time. The goal for most companies right now is to create a fleet of self-flying or piloted air taxis. They’ve built maybe a few dozen of these drone-like vehicles for testing. The number you're asking about is basically the number of these test vehicles. They're focusing on getting them approved to carry paying passengers on set routes in cities like Miami or Los Angeles, probably by the end of this decade. So, for personal ownership, it's zero. But for a chance to ride in one, that future is getting closer.

[MicahRose]

The real number isn't about what exists in a hangar today, but what's being invested in for tomorrow. While there are only a handful of prototypes, the financial and industrial commitment is huge. Major players like Toyota, Hyundai, and airlines are backing eVTOL developers. The focus is on solving the battery energy density problem and creating the digital infrastructure to manage these aircraft safely. The count of true flying cars is zero, but the count of companies with serious, flight-proven eVTOL prototypes is around a dozen. The timeline for a meaningful service is widely seen as the latter half of this decade, starting in specific markets.