It looks like the flying taxi bubble is bursting, just like the dot-com bubble burst twenty years ago. The bankruptcy protection procedure was started by the undisputed leader in the field of new urban air mobility – the German company Volocopter. The court appointed the company to temporary administration and gave it until February to seek investment. If a source of funding is not found, decades of effort will be in vain.
Image source: Volocopter
Recently it became known about the bankruptcy of another German company – Lilium. It was unable to attract new funding and began the process of laying off staff. However, Volocopter is on a completely different level. All analysts unanimously argued that if someone can take electric taxis into the sky, Volocopter will be the first to do it. The company launched its electric aircraft into the skies of Europe and Southeast Asia. She had hundreds of pre-orders for future cars. And now she was on the verge of bankruptcy.
The order to introduce external management of Volocopter was issued by the Karlsruhe court on December 26, 2024. If the company were to go out of business, analysts would be forced to recognize China’s EHang as the industry leader, which has seen steady growth and reported a 287% increase in annual revenue. American companies also remain. While they are far from achieving the achievements of their German colleagues, they do not lack funding. However, Volocopter intends to fight for its survival.
«We are ahead of our industry peers in technology, flight testing and certification,” said Dirk Hoke, CEO of Volocopter. “This makes us an attractive company for investors while we undergo internal restructuring.”