Aviation Capital Group (ACG) is providing financing for purchases of Volocopter’s aircraft, up to $1B, after the eVTOL aircraft achieve certification. (Photo: Tom Ziora for Volocopter)
ACG (Aviation Capital Group) has agreed to coordinate with urban air mobility (UAM) company Volocopter to develop financing solutions to enable Volocopter’s electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) sales once its aircraft achieves certification. The agreement covers up to $1 billion in financing sales of Volocopter’s eVTOL aircraft.
Once the FAA and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) have certified the aircraft for commercial use, deliveries of Volocopter’s eVTOL vehicles will commence. Three eVTOL aircraft have been developed by Volocopter for zero-emission transportation services, such as carrying passengers (the VoloCity and VoloConnect aircraft) and for moving cargo (the VoloDrone).
Through this agreement, ACG will enable Volocopter to offer customers the option to lease its eVTOL aircraft. The benefits of ACG’s experience and assistance are the flexibility and security provided for customer transactions if they choose the leasing option. After certification is achieved, Volocopter’s commercial business can begin scaling up its offerings for the urban air mobility (UAM) market thanks to this collaboration with ACG. As CEO Florian Reuter put it, “This agreement will allow our business to hit the ground running after aircraft certification.”
Volocopter’s eVTOL aircraft, including the VoloConnect pictured above, are designed for transportation in urban airspace. (Photo: Volocopter)
Some of the competitive advantages of Volocopter’s family of aircraft include the design simplicity and low noise profile. The VoloCity, VoloConnect, and VoloDrone are also all designed with “high levels of safety,” according to the company.
ACG’s parent company—Tokyo Century—is an early equity investor in Volocopter, and the new agreement builds on the existing partnership between the two companies, said Tom Baker, ACG CEO and President. “This transaction highlights ACG’s ongoing commitment to reducing the environmental impact of the aviation industry and to working towards a cleaner and more sustainable future,” Baker added.
The VoloCity is designed with low complexity and a quiet noise profile. (Photo: Volocopter)
Volocopter had a busy year in 2021. Just a couple of months ago, the company formed a joint venture with an enterprise called NEOM to build and operate a public vertical mobility system on the coast of the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia. NEOM placed confirmed orders for 10 VoloCity aircraft and 5 of the VoloDrones. In November, Volocopter completed a crewed test flight of its eVTOL demonstrator aircraft, the 2X. This marked the first crewed public test flight of a fully electric VTOL air taxi in South Korea.
Another joint venture company was formed in September 2021 between Volocopter and Aerofugia, a subsidiary of China’s Geely Technology Group. This deal set out to bring Volocopter’s aircraft to the market in China within the next five years. Additionally, Geely will purchase 150 Volocopter aircraft and elect a member to join Volocopter’s advisory board.