BERLIN: Volocopter, a German flying taxi startup, announced on Tuesday (July 6) that it had acquired long-time partner DG Flugzeugbau, ensuring compliance with the European Union’s production regulations. The deal, the terms of which were not disclosed, implies that Volocopter, based in Bruchsal, now has production organization certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), in addition to its current EASA design clearance.
“Volocopter is currently the first and only electric vertical take-off and landing firm with both the essential design and production organization approvals,” the company stated in a statement.
Volocopter plans to begin regular service for its two-seater flying taxi, which resembles an enormous drone, in time for the 2024 Paris Olympics. It’s also working on a cargo-lifting drone. It just raised 200 million euros ($237 million) to support its certification campaign. Lilium and Joby, two well-funded rivals, have declared plans to float on the US stock market by combining with publicly traded shell businesses.
Reuters is the source of this information./n
