Volocopter

The German eVTOL aircraft developer is joining the public-private Urban Movements Labs partnership to support the city of Los Angeles in efforts to launch air taxi and other air mobility services.

The German company's 2X eVTOL prototype flew in front of large crowds at the EAA AirVenture event, and visitors were also able to take a close look at the cabin for the VoloCity air taxi model.

The German eVTOL aircraft developer has partnered with Malaysia Airports and Skyports to study the business case for investing in urban air mobility across the Southeast Asian country.

Aviation training group CAE will help eVTOL developer Volocopter prepare a training program to operate its aircraft in commercial services, which are scheduled to start in 2024.

Volocopter will soon hold both EASA production and design organization approvals when it completes the acquisition of DG Flugzeugbau, which has been helping it to build eVTOL prototypes for the past 10 years.

The German company intends to directly challenge rival like Joby, Archer and Lilium with a four-seat lift-and-push eVTOL model with a range of 60 miles.

The German eVTOL developer is eyeing the launch of commercial services in U.S. cities such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, DC.

Volocopter says that becoming a design organization will accelerate the type certification process for its aircraft.

Volocopter says it will be ready to launch on-demand air taxi services with its VoloCity eVTOL aircraft within two to five years.