Skip to content
MarketScale
‹ Back to IndustriesProfessional AV

CES 2024: Urban Air Mobility Gets Closer to Reality with Supernal’s New eVTOL Concept

The race to commercialize air taxis accelerates as a major automaker's division reveals what could be flying passengers across cities within four years

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Professional AV teams put it to work with Customer Stories & Case Studies.

By Grant Harrell · Air TaxiCes 2024EvtolGrant Harrell
Share

Key takeaways

01

The race to commercialize air taxis accelerates as a major automaker's division reveals what could be flying passengers across cities within four years

Get featured

Want to get featured in MarketScale Professional AV?

Create a free MarketScale workspace and get your company's expertise featured across our Professional AV coverage. No credit card, no demo required.

Start free

Is urban air mobility finally ready to take flight? The eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) movement has, of yet, landed as fast as some predicted, but news out of CES 2024 makes it clear that it's coming.

Supernal, Hyundai Motor Group's air taxi division, unveiled its second eVTOL concept at CES 2024, showcasing a vehicle designed for quiet urban air mobility with a 25- to 40-mile range, set to begin test flights in December 2024 as the company moves towards FAA certification. If everything stays on track, Supernal expects these vehicles to reach the market in 2028.

How does Supernal plan to transform the daily commute into a seamless, sustainable journey integrating air and ground travel?

John Illson, the Chief Safety Officer for Supernal, guides viewers through the innovative features of the new eVTOL concept vehicle, SA-2, emphasizing its potential to revolutionize urban transit with safety and efficiency at its core.

"Safety is not negotiable for us, so this aircraft will be certified to the highest safety standards set by the FAA or other regulators," Illson assured, highlighting Supernal's commitment to setting a new benchmark in air mobility.

Safety is not negotiable for us, so this aircraft will be certified to the highest safety standards set by the FAA or other regulators.
— John Illson, Chief Safety Officer at Supernal

Video TranscriptExpand ↓

Using the this type of transportation for their daily commute to get from an inner city, vertical port over to, LAX or some other airport to connect on a traditional flight. Safety is not negotiable for us. I'm John Nelson, the chief safety officer here at Sopurnal, and this is our prototype aircraft, SA two. One of the unique things about this aircraft is it has eight rotors, all of which can articulate or, be tilted differently to allow us to transition from vertical flight for take off and landing to horizontal flight like a normal conventional aircraft. So you can see the different rotors here. The the front rotors are currently configured for vertical flight. And if we walk around to the back, You can see the the rear rotor's currently configured for the horizontal configuration. Inside, you have a cabin that can safely and comfortably accommodate four passengers plus the cockpit here for the single pilot operation. Everything's designed with safety in mind. We're currently looking to be able to operate this aircraft on a twenty five to forty miles stage length, very sustainable and very quiet. So the idea is that we'll use this aircraft to, save people a great deal of time, whether they're using the this type of transportation for their daily commute to get from an inner city, vertical port over to, LAX or some other airport to connect on a traditional flight. Safety is not negotiable for us, so this aircraft will be certified to the highest, safety standards set by the FAA or other regulators. And as it becomes certified, we'll also be developing training programs, certification strategies, everything to be sure that it's operated as safely as possible once it goes into service. That's what we're doing here today. We're really happy to be able to showcase this event, and where to come, twenty twenty eight for certification. So We're really on an aggressive timeline.

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Professional AV starts with a company putting its integrators, design engineers, and product specialists on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

When a spec writer or facilities lead searches this category, your integrators are what they find instead of a competitor.

Get your team featuredSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.

About the author

GH
Grant HarrellHead of Transportation/Mobility & Host of "Are We There Yet?" video podcast series

Asking the most exciting, innovative, cutting-edge companies in transportation/mobility the “Are We There Yet?” question is a lot of fun, and the focus of Grant Harrell's top video podcast series! And, it’s not a bad question as so much is truly happening in this space today. What used to be trains, planes, and automobiles is now robots, drones, and spaceships, and Grant is curious about how soon we are all going to see these technologies in action, at scale. Very few of us enjoy a car that drives itself, have dinner delivered via drone, or have taken a vacation to space, but these amazing technologies and applications, as Grant discovers within his "Are We There Yet?" podcast series, are here, or as he likes to say, "we're there"! Grant also serves as the Head of Transportation/Mobility for MarketScale, one of the fastest-growing, most-successful, fun b2b media companies in the industry! MarketScale works behind the scenes for many of the top brands today, building their brand, engaging their communities, and telling their incredible stories! Within Grant's leadership of MarketScale's Transportation/Mobility division, he enjoys working with top companies within automotive to aviation, micro-mobility to marine, drones to space exploration, and everyone in between. And, Grant encourages you to reach out to him directly and set up a meeting, because as he says, "whats the point of all of this transportation/mobility technology development if we aren't headed somewhere fun to meet someone interesting"!

Follow Professional AV Insights

Get new expert content in your inbox.

Professional AV: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Professional AV buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. Explore how your experts, customers, and partners can become useful content for buyers and AI search.

Free plan

You just read one Professional AV expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your integrators, design engineers, and product specialists into the articles, video, and social content Professional AV buyers are searching for. Create a free workspace and see it with your own people. No credit card, no demo required.

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What you get, free

Your own MarketScale workspace, up to 10 people
One professional video edit a month for qualifying companies
Media requests to your crowd, remote recording, AI writing tools
$0, no credit card, nothing that expires

More Professional AV Insights

End users made up 37% of InfoComm 2026's 28,132 attendees

End users made up 37% of InfoComm 2026's 28,132 attendees

AVIXA reports InfoComm 2026 drew 28,132 verified attendees from 94 countries to Las Vegas, with end users making up 37%. Microsoft and Cisco keynotes centered on AI agents for the meeting room. For enterprise workplace and IT teams, the show's award-winning gear and cross-platform pitches are now landing in fall buying cycles.

  • 01A 37% end-user share at a pro AV trade show is a usable benchmark: more than one in three badges belonged to organizations that deploy the equipment, which changes who exhibitors build their demos for.
  • 02The sharper question to put to a collaboration vendor after this show is which platform an AI meeting feature actually runs on. According to AVIXA, Cisco's keynote framed intelligent systems and open collaboration ecosystems as working across any platform including Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and Zoom, while Microsoft tied its voice agents to Teams Phone and Teams Rooms.
  • 03The 170-meter Cat5e reach BZBGEAR's Matt Richards cited to CE Pro for the XTREME-PRO, part of the XLink-ONE family that took Best of Show at InfoComm 2026 from AV Technology, is a manufacturer spec, not an independent test; for facilities with runs past 100 meters it is worth a bench check before fiber is designed out.

Sep 18, 2026

Sponsors, not subscriptions, will fund free streaming across all 7 Smyrna Baseball League fields

Sponsors, not subscriptions, will fund free streaming across all 7 Smyrna Baseball League fields

Smyrna Baseball League in Tennessee is launching free live streaming across all seven of its fields through Hometown Live, with sponsors rather than subscription fees covering the six-figure project cost. Nevco Media Group is funding the initiative by matching the league with national and local advertisers, while the platform integrates scoring data, statistics, and video in a unified experience.

  • 01Nevco Media Group is funding a six-figure streaming project for Smyrna Baseball League by matching sponsors to cover technology costs instead of charging families subscription fees.
  • 02Each of seven fields receives a Nevco ONE scoring controller, Scorebird NeST device, and auto-switching cameras, with real-time scores and statistics integrated directly alongside video.
  • 03The partnership structure expands with the league's construction plans: new fields added by SBL trigger new technology installations, preventing the system from becoming outdated.

Sep 17, 2026

College of Idaho adds 10mm video display and scoreboard at Simplot Stadium

College of Idaho adds 10mm video display and scoreboard at Simplot Stadium

The College of Idaho installed a new 10mm Nevco video display and custom scoreboard system at Simplot Stadium to support the football program's rapid rise in the NAIA rankings. The venue upgrade is part of a broader athletics facilities investment aligned with the team's on-field success, including 11-2 record last season and number 4 national ranking.

  • 01The College of Idaho has installed a 10mm video display and scoreboard at Simplot Stadium.
  • 02The improvements are part of efforts to meet the demands of a growing football program.
  • 03Simplot Stadium hosted its first night game in 2024 following the installation of new lights in 2020.

Sep 17, 2026

Explore More Professional AV Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Professional AV.

Browse Professional AV Hub

About the Expert

GH
Grant Harrell

Head of Transportation/Mobility & Host of "Are We There Yet?" video podcast series

Asking the most exciting, innovative, cutting-edge companies in transportation/mobility the “Are We There Yet?” question is a lot of fun, and the focus of Grant Harrell's top video podcast series! And, it’s not a bad question as so much is truly happening in this space today. What used to be trains, planes, and automobiles is now robots, drones, and spaceships, and Grant is curious about how soon we are all going to see these technologies in action, at scale. Very few of us enjoy a car that drives itself, have dinner delivered via drone, or have taken a vacation to space, but these amazing technologies and applications, as Grant discovers within his "Are We There Yet?" podcast series, are here, or as he likes to say, "we're there"! Grant also serves as the Head of Transportation/Mobility for MarketScale, one of the fastest-growing, most-successful, fun b2b media companies in the industry! MarketScale works behind the scenes for many of the top brands today, building their brand, engaging their communities, and telling their incredible stories! Within Grant's leadership of MarketScale's Transportation/Mobility division, he enjoys working with top companies within automotive to aviation, micro-mobility to marine, drones to space exploration, and everyone in between. And, Grant encourages you to reach out to him directly and set up a meeting, because as he says, "whats the point of all of this transportation/mobility technology development if we aren't headed somewhere fun to meet someone interesting"!

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Professional AV and beyond.

Book a 15-minute demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512