PLM Specialist

Volocopter, a German air taxi startup, has reportedly been acquired by Austrian aircraft manufacturer Diamond Aircraft, owned by China's Wanfeng, though the deal is not yet confirmed. Diamond plans to reduce Volocopter's workforce from 500 to 160. Volocopter filed for insolvency after failing to secure funding to complete its VoloCity eVTOL certification. Despite financial struggles, it signed a deal with France's Jet Systems for eVTOL operations. Diamond's acquisition could aid Volocopter's urban air mobility goals.

The high-profile financial difficulties of Germany’s Lilium and Volocopter have made investors and others begin to wonder whether eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing)— once considered the future of climate-friendly, short-hop aviation — has crashed before it has even taken off. In November 2024, Lilium filed for bankruptcy in the United States and insolvency in Germany after it was unable to gain loan guarantees from the German federal and Bavarian governments. It had been founded in 2015 in Munich and had raised more than a billion dollars. At the time Lilium said it had orders, reservations and options on 780 aircraft across the world, with two already on the production line. Now there are signs that the company may find a way out through new investors or a loan.Volocopter, meanwhile, was founded in 2011 and had raised more than $700 million but also fell into insolvency and is currently seeking investors.”The recent insolvencies seem to have created a bit of pessimism but, like in other innovative sectors, there's an elated fervor in the beginning, then there's a bit of a slump,” said Dan Sloat, founder and president of the Advanced Air Mobility Institute (AAMI). “Hopefully we're on the upswing out of that.” While Lilium and Volocopter have struggled, other eVTOL players have attracted huge investment

Germany-based Volocopter, an urban air mobility company that develops eco-friendly air taxis to transport people, announced its application to open insolvency proceedings at the Karlsruhe Local Court on 26 December 2024.The Karlsruhe Local Court began the provisional insolvency administration the following day and appointed Tobias Wahl, partner, and attorney at Anchor Rechtsanwältegesellschaft mbH, as its administrator.The company has achieved growth through several financing rounds and maintains one of the lowest burn rates in the industry.However, despite recent fundraising efforts, it has been unable to find a viable solution to continue operations without facing insolvency, says the company.Business operations will continue as normal during the provisional insolvency proceedings.The provisional insolvency administrator has now conducted a staff meeting to update employees about the current situation and address initial questions regarding the proceedings.In addition, Tobias Wahl has initiated an investor process.“The company needs financing to take the final steps towards market entry. We will endeavour to develop a restructuring concept by the end of February and implement it with investors,” explains Tobias Wahl.The announcement comes as Munich-based Lilium, an electric air taxi startup is set to restructure with new backing. A consortium of European and North American investors have agreed to acquire two of Lilium’s subsidiaries, enabling the Munich-based company to restructure and exit insolvency. Notably, Lilium ceased operations and laid off 1,000 employees. Volocopter: Bringing urban air mobility to lifeFounded in 2011 by Stephan Wolf and Alexander Zosel, Volocopter aims to build the ecosystem necessary to “Bring Urban Air Mobility to Life” by cooperating with partners in infrastructure, operations, and air traffic management.Volocopter is building the world’s first sustainable and scalable urban air mobility business, bringing affordable air taxi services to megacities worldwide.The company claims to be the first and only eVTOL company to receive Design Organisation Approval (DOA) from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Volocopter has committed to launching commercial air taxi services in cities like Singapore, Rome, Paris and the NEOM region.With VoloCity, the company is developing the first fully electric “eVTOL” aircraft in certification to transport passengers safely and quietly within cities. Besides, VoloCity, its family of aircraft includes VoloConnect and VoloDrone.The company aims to enter the market in 2025 following VoloCity’s successful certification by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).The company employs more than 500 people and has completed over 2,000 successful public and private test flights. Its diverse investors include Mercedes-Benz Group, Geely, Intel Capital, and BlackRock.Dirk Hoke, CEO of Volocopter, says, “We are ahead of our industry peers in our technological, flight test, and certification progress. That makes us an attractive company to invest in while we organise ourselves with internal restructuring.”