Race to the First Profitable Electric Air Taxi Continues
Diamond Aircraft Group, based in Wiener-Neustadt, Austria, is integrating Volocopter into its operations and retained its headquarters in Bruchsal, Germany after acquiring the bankrupt eVTOL manufacturer for €10 million ($10.9 million). The reorganization of Volocopter promises to extend Diamond’s aircraft and business portfolio into the rapidly emerging and increasingly competitive electric air taxi market.
The acquisition has reduced costs for Volocopter and has also enabled it to retain a reduced but highly motivated and skilled workforce which is focused on type certification for its urban air taxi, VoloCity. That certification is expected to be completed later this year.
Volocopter is also working on its next-gen variants it hopes to field and evolve successfully in the longer term to contribute to the sustainable growth of the AAM or advanced air mobility industry.
Bin Chen, Chairman of Diamond Aircraft Group said, “The future of aviation is shaped by visionaries. Diamond’s stellar portfolio, its manufacturing expertise, and the addition of Volocopter create a formidable lineup of general aviation flying vehicles. Together, we are laying the foundation to advance sustainable air mobility and strengthen Europe as an innovation hub in aviation.”
Tobias Wahl, the Insolvency Administrator and partner at Anchor Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH added, “Volocopter's expertise and highly motivated team have consistently set benchmarks in the eVTOL industry. With Diamond Aircraft, we have found a strong strategic partner who will build on this foundation. My special thanks go to the employees for their spirit and commitment. I am grateful that the team can carry on with their impactful work in the European economy.”
