Air Taxi Company Files for Bankruptcy, Seeks New Funding

German eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) vehicle developer Volocopter has filed an application for the opening of insolvency proceedings as the company continues to seek new funding.

Volocopter said business operations will continue during the provisional insolvency proceedings as an administrator restructures the company and seeks new financing.   

“Despite recent intensive fundraising efforts, finding a viable solution to maintain regular operations outside of insolvency proceedings has not been possible,” read a statement issued by Volocopter.

The announcement comes days after another German eVTOL jet maker signed an asset purchase agreement, allowing that flying taxi company to restart business operations.

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The deal with eVTOL maker Lilium was made with Mobile Uplift, a company set up by a consortium of investors from Europe and North America, giving the new investors the operating assets of the subsidiaries Lilium GmbH and Lilium eAircraft GmbH. 

Both Volocopter and Lilium have faced financing challenges in a flying taxi market dominated by Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation.

Lilium faced the insolvency issue earlier and ultimately was recently financially rescued. Now it will be up to Volocopter leadership to see if it can secure new funding.

Related:Flying Taxi Startup Rescued by New Investors

“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 organize ourselves with internal restructuring,” said Dirk Hoke, CEO of Volocopter

Voloocpter had hoped to fly at the 2024 Paris Olympics starting in July.

At the time, only electric aerial vehicles (EAV) from Volocopter were authorized to use the new vertiport and conduct demonstration flights during the Paris Games.

The Volocopter VoloCity, one of several Volocopter flying vehicles, has been flown in Las Vegas, Dallas and Tampa, Florida.

The VoloCity also spent time at Tampa airport testing with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ahead of its flight there late last year.

The battery powered EAV can travel at speeds up to 68 mph with a takeoff capacity of 2,000 pounds.

As in typical eVTOLs, the Volocopter air taxi has redundant systems.

The German Federal Aviation Office Luftfahrt-Bundesamt production organization had approved the production of the VoloCity.

The approval is for two new Volocopter production and hangar facilities in Bruchsal, Germany, and includes production of the eVTOL from prototyping to serial manufacturing. 

Related:Flying Taxi Startup Faces Insolvency

The crewed VoloCity air taxi has been flown over the course of a week in the cities of Osaka and Amagasaki in preparation for the 2025 World Exposition, Osaka Kansai Expo.

Volocopter has been focused on Japan since 2018 when the country became one of the first to announce its commitment to urban air mobility.