Volocopter conducts its first urban flight in Europe

Volocopter has successfully completed the first urban flight of the VoloCity air taxi at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, which was the highlight of the two-day “Vision Smart City” event. The move is part of an initiative of a research project by the Technical University of Stuttgart to examine the social acceptance of air taxis.

This comes several days after it was reported the privately-owned German aircraft manufacturer managed to raise 50 million euros in the first closing of its Series C funding round, with Zhejiang Geely Holding Group being one of its major investors. Prior to that, in 2017, Volocopter received an investment of 25 milion euros led by Daimler, Mercedes-Benz’s parent company, along with a few other investors.

“Our partner Volocopter shows how an air taxi is turning the dream of driving into the dream of flying. At Daimler we work on the mobility of the future too. By 2022 we will have electrified the entire Mercedes-Benz portfolio,” said Ola Källenius, chairman of the board of management of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.

“Our Volocopter air taxis open up a completely new dimension in urban mobility. As Stuttgart has seen today, they fly safely, quietly and are fast approching the implementation stage. Volocopter air taxis are able to ease traffic congestion in major cities around the world, also here in Germany,” added Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter GmbH.

According to the company, the VoloCity is a two-seat aircraft with an operating weight of 700 kg (900 kg maximum take-off mass), which has a payload of 200 kg. The vehicle features nine lithium-ion battery packs that power 18 electric motors driving 18 rotors.

Capable of vertical take-off and landing, the VoloCity has a range of 35 km, and will travel up to a maximum airspeed of 110 km/h. Those battery packs can also be easily swapped out (within five minutes), minimising downtime for charging the vehicle.

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Gerard Lye

Originating from the corporate world with a background in finance and economics, Gerard’s strong love for cars led him to take the plunge into the automotive media industry. It was only then did he realise that there are more things to a car than just horsepower count.

 

Comments

  • azrai on Sep 17, 2019 at 10:34 am

    …meanwhile in Malaysia people are laughing at flying car project. Who will laugh all the way to the bank after all. We need innovation to strive especially in new territory, new tech. Not innovation like cheese leleh in bubble milk tea, or durian burger whatsoever.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 10
    • Nama pun bukan car tapi copter. Ini mimpi nyanyuk orang tua saja yg mati2 mau kereta terbang tapi hakikatnya mainan drone saja. Pirraaahhhlah!

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 0
  • Kereta Terbang Bolehland on Sep 17, 2019 at 11:02 am

    Do you think Redzuan is now having the last laugh after naysayers accept the fact and “surrender”?

    wkwkwkwkwkwk!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 6
    • Brian on Sep 17, 2019 at 6:43 pm

      We accept the fact that we are going to lose billions upon billions RM into this blackhole project to suit the whims of a deranged crone and his sons plus their crony minions?

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • Kipidap on Sep 17, 2019 at 11:19 am

    So fast already realized such concept..they lucky to have Geely

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
    • Mr. Octopus on Sep 17, 2019 at 2:14 pm

      Looks like you know absolutely nothing about the Volocopter. It was already flying long before Geely came into the picture. This is their first ‘urban’ flight. Geely only threw money at them after seeing the proof of concept.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
      • Don’t be jealous dude… Daimler is not silly and won’t be accepting Geely blindly if there is no contribution from them

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Geely Boleh! on Sep 17, 2019 at 3:47 pm

      Thanks to Daimler’s biggest shareholder Li Sufu (Geely Boss), Volocopter gets the honor to perform a real live demo at Daimler’s facility. Congrats!

      Geely P1 Lotus Mesedis Volvo Smart Trifagua > all

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1
 

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