Volocopter ready to enter production of electric air taxis

12 years since the inaugural flight of their first electrically powered vertical take-off and landing aircraft, Volocopter have opened production facilities in Bruchsal, Germany where they aim to assemble 50 of their VoloCity aircraft each year. 

The two-seater VoloCity is being marketed as an urban air taxi which will move passengers between key transportation hubs such as train stations and airports. In fact, the company are not planning on selling single Volocopters commercially. Instead, their goal is to offer a means of public transport and to have joint ventures with operational partners such as  Lufthansa. 

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 the 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 will be deployed across the world, offering commercial services starting next year.

The company anticipate that a ride in a Volocopter will be approximately the price of Uber’s high-end Black service but it will, as they say, bring you from A to B much more conveniently.

The VoloCity’s 18 motors are powered by nine rechargeable batteries and a battery swapping system enables rapid aircraft turnaround times. 

The CEO of Volocopter Dirk Hoke said: ‘Right here is where the aircraft that will change how humanity moves about cities will take off and make its way across the world. 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.’