Volocopter raises 50 million to commercialize air taxi within three years

Volocopter has raised 50 million euros in a financing round for the development of its VoloCity air taxi. With the money, the company aims to commercialize the air taxi within three years. The investors also include Geely, the parent company of Volvo and Lotus, among others.

The main new backer of German urban air mobility pioneer Volocopter is the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, a Chinese company with interests in the automotive industry, which owns the Volvo, Polestar and Lotus brands, among others. The companies say they have formed a new joint venture together to introduce the electric-powered air taxis in China.

With the new financial support, Volocopter expects to be able to commercialize its VoloCity air taxi within three years. The so-called evtol, which stands for electrically powered vertical take-off and landing aircraft, performed a successful manned test flight at Helsinki Airport at the end of August, integrating the VoloCity into the air traffic control system. At the end of October, the company will present its air taxi landing infrastructure at the ITS World Congress on ‘smart mobility’ in Singapore.

Volocopter has now raised a capital of 85 million euros through various financing rounds. Earlier, Intel and Daimler also invested money in the company. About 35 million was spent on the development of the first two generations of Volocopter aircraft, which have since been licensed for manned and unmanned flights. The German company is still in talks with other potential investors for an additional cash injection later this year.

Volocopter’s VoloCity in action at Helsinki International Airport