Volocopter Completes Production Setup for Electric Air Taxis
Volocopter, the pioneer of urban air mobility (UAM), announced yesterday the opening of its production facilities in Bruchsal.
The company marked this milestone with the opening of a new hangar that will host the company’s final assembly line with an airfield to conduct development flight tests as well as quality checks. All company-owned production sites, which will manufacture the first EASA-certified electric air taxis, will ramp up into full operation in April. From this facility, electric air taxis made in Germany will be deployed across the world, offering commercial services starting next year.
Volocopter’s production facilities have the capacity – and more importantly the regulatory approval – to assemble 50+ VoloCity aircraft each year. And this is the final step of the production setup that Volocopter has been expanding in Bruchsal over the past 18 months. Since 2021, the company holds an approval as production organization in compliance with EASA regulation.
This certification covers the entire VoloCity production process. It includes the manufacturing of carbon fiber parts, all aspects of the electric propulsion unit, final assembly with decking of the propulsion system and fuselage, and extensive end-of-line flight tests.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on 4 April 2023 at the hangar. The event also featured a crewed flight of the Volocopter 2X. Key guests included Dr. Volker Wissing, Federal Minister of Digital Affairs and Transport; Mr. Winfried Kretschmann, Minister of the State of Baden-Württemberg; Dr. Anna Christmann, Federal Government Coordinator for German Aerospace Policy; and upward of 70 business and political representatives.
“Right here is where the aircraft that will change how humanity moves about cities will take off and make its way across the world,” said Dirk Hoke, Chief Executive Officer of Volocopter. “This region is known for transforming mobility – the bicycle, the car, and soon Volocopter, too. Electric air taxis and Volocopter in particular is a technology made in Germany that will make the world a more sustainable place.”
“The VoloCity has completed the critical design review – and that’s the aircraft we’re ready to produce, with enough leeway for further learnings derived from flight testing. It’s no easy task to set up a production facility for an entirely new type of aircraft, but my team has done a phenomenal job,” said Andreas Fehring, Chief Supply Chain Officer of Volocopter, and Program Manager VoloCity.
“Germany is already a world leader in the development of air taxis, thanks in part to Volocopter’s great pioneering spirit. I would like to support and build on this leading role by creating a framework that enables innovation and progress. We are working with key industry players on a strategy for air taxi operations here in Germany, in which all technical and legal issues are addressed without delay. We are doing this so that the first drones carrying people and goods can take off very soon,” said Dr. Volker Wissing, Federal Minister of Digital and Transport.
Volocopter develops electrically powered air taxis that are set to transform urban transportation. With its family of aircraft (the VoloCity, VoloRegion, and VoloDrone), the company takes a unique approach by developing UAM as a holistic ecosystem. As the first and only electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) company to receive Design Organisation Approval (DOA) from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and over ten years of development experience, Volocopter is the clear leader in this airspace. The German company has committed to launching commercial air taxi services in cities like Singapore, Rome, NEOM, and Paris as early as 2024.
About Volocopter
Volocopter brings urban air mobility (UAM) to megacities worldwide. We aim to improve the quality of life for people in cities by offering a fantastic new mode of transportation. For that, we create sustainable and scalable UAM ecosystems with partners in infrastructure and operations.
Volocopter’s family of eVTOL aircraft will offer passengers (VoloCity and VoloRegion) and goods (VoloDrone) swift, secure, and emission-free connections to their destinations, supported by VoloIQ, the UAM ecosystem’s software platform that serves as its digital backbone for safe and efficient operations.
As a pioneer in the UAM industry, Volocopter will launch commercial services within the next few years. Founded in 2011, the company employs more than 500 people in Germany and Singapore, has completed over 1,500 successful public and private test flights, and has diverse investors, including Geely, NEOM, Mercedes-Benz Group, Intel Capital, and BlackRock. www.volocopter.com
RM by Cristian Frasin
