German eVTOL Volocopter goes bankrupt - maybe the Chinese buy it

The goal was set to start the first 'rides' with customers from 2023. Instead, Volocopter's flying taxis never took off and now the German company has announced in a short press release that it has filed for insolvency proceedings at the local court in Karlsruhe.

The insolvency administrator's name is Tobias Wahl and he has already started a so-called investment process. 'The company needs financing to take the last steps towards market entry'. According to Volocopter, the aim is to 'develop a restructuring concept by the end of February and implement it with investors'.

One potential interested party could be China's Geely, which, according to Bloomberg, has been considering the takeover of Volocopter for some time.

One step away from heaven

Volocopter was founded in Bruchsal, Germany, in 2011 with the aim of producing all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The development of the means required large sums of money and the certification of its urban eVTOL called VoloCity is very close.

However, 'despite recent intensive fundraising efforts,' according to the statement, 'no viable solution could be found to keep regular operations out of insolvency proceedings'.

Dirk Hoke, CEO of Volocopter, however, still has confidence in the project. He first reminded the press that the company 'has operated successfully in an extremely difficult financial environment' and then said: 'We are ahead of our industry peers in our technological advances, flight testing and certification. This makes us an attractive company to invest in as we organise internal restructuring'.

Volocopter only managed to complete one demonstration flight

Photo by: Volocopter

First flight in 2025?

The VoloCity is reportedly ready to be launched on the market in 2025. In fact, Volocopter has only managed to complete one manned demonstration flight in a Paris suburb, using the predecessor model 2X from ten years ago instead of the current model.

Geely might buy around 85 per cent of Volocopter's shares and save it, but it is not yet official.

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