This week, Airbus Helicopters CEO, Bruno Even, shared concerns over the maturity of battery technology. He announced the company will be pausing the development of its CityAirbus NextGen electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft at the end of the year.
In a statement shared with Revolution.Aero, the company said:
“As part of the company’s constant review of its strategy we have decided to postpone the launch of a UAM [urban air mobility] programme […] As we’ve always said, the development of a viable UAM economy is dependent on many factors and today we still see some of the key technologies that need to continue to evolve.”
During a briefing on the company’s performance in 2024, Even added:
“We learned a lot with CityAirbus NextGen, and our 10 years of investment in the urban air mobility prototype has been clearly instrumental to advance our understanding of technologies which are not only relevant for this urban mobility market, but for all our portfolio and across the Airbus portfolio […] At the same time we see today . . . that the conditions to launch a new program are not necessarily there.”
As the industry grapples with developing eVTOLs and progressing AAM, Airbus Helicopters’ comes at a time where the sector is facing mounting financial pressure. Analysts have warned “billions more will [still] be needed to achieve certification, large-scale aircraft production and profitability,” which is a concern for many given investment peaked in 2021 at $4.3 billion. Find out more here.
At Aerospace Tech Week Europe, industry experts will come together to explore Sustainability, Advanced Air Mobility, Training & Simulations, Flight Ops IT, Avionics, MRO IT, Connected Aircraft, Cybersecurity, Testing, UAM, and Supply Chain & Procurement.
This year, speakers from Lilium and VOLOCOPTER will be unpacking how UAM will transform European airspace and aviation. View the agenda here and book your ticket now for free!
For more like this see:
- Volocopter’s eVTOL launch at Paris Olympics scrapped
- eVTOL lifeline investments amid financial struggles
- Why Joby selected IFS for its eVTOL aircraft maintenance processes