A new generation of air taxis has attracted billions of dollars in investment and thousands of orders, but there are major challenges. Mark Broadbent reports
Advanced air mobility (AAM) has been a bright spot for the aerospace industry in the past couple of years in terms of investment and orders. Companies including Archer, Eve, Jaunt, Joby, Lilium, Vertical Aerospace and Volocopter have secured billions of dollars’ worth of funding and signed agreements for thousands of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that they say will offer new and innovative ways of transporting people and goods.
Frenzied activity
According to consultancy McKinsey & Company, there was an 83% increase in funding in the AAM sector between 2016 and 2021, to over $10.3bn, more than $4.3bn of it in January-June 2021.
