German Volocopter, which is partly owned by Mercedes, has filed for bankruptcy after the dream of building flying taxis collapsed.
Volocopter, the German air taxi manufacturer, has filed for bankruptcy at the Karlsruhe court, just days after one of Volocopter's closest competitors was saved from a similar fate.
Volocopter, headquartered near Stuttgart, has not yet obtained the necessary type approval from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to launch its Volocity model, an air taxi with space for two people.
Reuters writes.
The company has filed for insolvency. However, management believes that an investor can be found to save the business in 2025. The bankruptcy filing was necessary to maintain operations and secure employee salaries.
Volocopter writes in an official statement that despite intensive efforts to raise capital, it has not been possible to find a solution to avoid bankruptcy. Daily operations will continue as before during the preliminary insolvency proceedings.
Volocopter says it is close to getting approval for Volocity's fully electric technology, which would allow the company's vehicles to take off and land vertically. However, the company lacks the funding.
Tobias Wahl, who has been appointed as trustee, must now prepare a plan to reconstruct the company. It must be ready by the end of February, if the whole thing is not to go bankrupt.
Volocopter was founded in 2011. But it suffered a significant setback when test flights during the Summer Olympics in Paris last year had to be canceled. The reason? The company did not receive the proper certifications in time.
In December, Volocopter announced that the Volocity model met three-quarters of EASA requirements. The company is working on a five-seater model, which is expected to be presented in 2027.
The German startup is far from the only one struggling to make ends meet. Financially, many companies in and around the automotive industry are struggling to make ends meet. For example, Volkswagen has debt so massive that its CFO believes it will run out of money within two to three years.
