Suzuki and SkyDrive has been developing eVTOL flying car
In the Philippines, Suzuki’s Skydrive has been a familiar name for 16 years, quietly cementing its spot as one of the brand’s best-selling scooters. But just a few years ago, thanks to the rapid rise of motorcycle taxis and delivery services, scooters like the Skydrive truly became indispensable on the road. For local riders, the name “Skydrive” instantly calls to mind a nimble, hardworking scooter built for the city grind. In Japan, however, “SkyDrive” carries a far more futuristic meaning, one that looks beyond traffic altogether and straight into the skies.
Recently, Suzuki Motor Corporation has officially entered the next phase of mobility through its partnership with SkyDrive Inc., a Japanese developer of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The collaboration has taken center stage at Expo 2025 Osaka, where the SkyDrive SD-05 “flying car” was both on display and on demonstration flights.
Production of the SD-05 began in March 2024 at Suzuki’s manufacturing plant in Iwata City, Shizuoka Prefecture. To handle manufacturing, SkyDrive established a subsidiary called Sky Works Inc., which is tasked with building the eVTOLs with a target production capacity of around 100 units per year. Suzuki adds its proven manufacturing expertise to SkyDrive’s innovations, a partnership aimed at putting Japan at the forefront of flying vehicle technology.
At the Expo 2025, visitors saw a full-scale SD-05 mockup up close and witnessed demonstration flights departing from the Expo Vertiport in Osaka Bay. The flights, running between late July and August 2025, were part of Japan’s wider effort to showcase sustainable urban air transport to the world. SkyDrive has positioned the SD-05 as a compact, two-seat aircraft designed for short-range trips, with future applications ranging from urban commuting to tourism and emergency response.
For Suzuki, this marks the company’s expansion into a “fourth mobility field,” alongside automobiles, motorcycles, and outboard motors for boat use.
Back home in the Philippines, where traffic gridlock and overcrowded roads have long plagued commuters, such advances spark an obvious question: if Japan is preparing for the skies, when will we be ready to explore the same path? Could flying cars one day be a real solution to Metro Manila’s daily standstills, or will they remain a distant dream?
