About the size of an autorickshaw and equipped with four horizontal propellers, the drone-like prototype reached a height of 3 metres (10 feet) during the test in Chiba, east of Tokyo, on Monday.

The flying car is designed to make deliveries on unmanned flights, NEC officials said.

The Japanese government aims to start commercialising flying vehicles from around 2023, beginning with the transport of goods, and expanding to moving people closer to 2030.

(Writing by Karishma Singh, Editing by Clarence Fernandez)