Chinese company interested in Volocopter

New owners? Chinese company interested in Volocopter

2024-12-04 Source: dpa 2 min Reading Time

Volocopter develops flying robot taxis in Bruchsal. Things are apparently not going so well with the air taxi business. The rescue might come from China...

The air taxi specialist Volocopter is reportedly not doing particularly well. Now, however, there is a chance that a Chinese company might take over the business. Here’s more about it...(Image: Volocopter) — The air taxi specialist Volocopter is reportedly not doing particularly well. Now, however, there is a chance that a Chinese company might take over the business. Here’s more about it...
(Image: Volocopter)

According to a report by the news agency Bloomberg, the Chinese conglomerate Geely is in advanced talks to bring Volocopter under its control. Zhejiang Geely Holding has reportedly discussed a majority stake in Volocopter by leading a consortium that would inject fresh capital into the company. This move could potentially save the air taxi startup from impending insolvency, it is said. Volocopter declined to comment on the matter. Due to ongoing financing and contractual obligations, it will not currently disclose the names of investors or future forecasts. As a privately funded company, it's strategically exploring several financing options. Volocopter will announce the current financing situation when ready, as noted. Volocopter has a diversified pool of investors, with Geely being a shareholder and partner since 2019, alongside other companies from the automotive, aviation, or technology sectors.

Politics leave innovative companies out in the cold

The outgoing Volocopter CEO Dirk Hoke, who will be stepping down next spring, criticized the government for its lack of support. Although Volocopter builds the air taxis and is now authorized to train pilots, it lacks a type certification for commercial passenger operations. The company initially planned to offer three connection routes and two tourist flight routes in Paris for the Olympic Games. In the end, it only managed to conduct demonstration flights, which were quite media-effective, including near the Palace of Versailles. The industry appears to have general issues with the government, as the electric aircraft pioneer Lilium has already faced insolvency after a guarantee from the german coalition was rejected.

Sobering insights about air taxis

Amidst the hype around air taxis, there is now a relativizing study. According to this study, air taxis perform significantly worse than often claimed. The Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim (Germany) found from eleven studies that travel times are barely reduced, while costs—and compared to electric cars—CO₂ emissions increase. Urban air mobility could be useful primarily for emergency operations and connecting remote regions, as noted by the ZEW analysts.

Subscribe to the newsletter now

Don't Miss out on Our Best Content

Business E-mail

Please enter a valid mailadress.

By clicking on „Subscribe to Newsletter“ I agree to the processing and use of my data according to the consent form (please expand for details) and accept the Terms of Use. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. The consent declaration relates, among other things, to the sending of editorial newsletters by email and to data matching for marketing purposes with selected advertising partners (e.g., LinkedIn, Google, Meta)

Date: 08.12.2025

Naturally, we always handle your personal data responsibly. Any personal data we receive from you is processed in accordance with applicable data protection legislation. For detailed information please see our privacy policy.

Consent to the use of data for promotional purposes

I hereby consent to Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG, Max-Planck-Str. 7-9, 97082 Würzburg including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG (hereafter: Vogel Communications Group) using my e-mail address to send editorial newsletters. A list of all affiliated companies can be found here

Newsletter content may include all products and services of any companies mentioned above, including for example specialist journals and books, events and fairs as well as event-related products and services, print and digital media offers and services such as additional (editorial) newsletters, raffles, lead campaigns, market research both online and offline, specialist webportals and e-learning offers. In case my personal telephone number has also been collected, it may be used for offers of aforementioned products, for services of the companies mentioned above, and market research purposes.

Additionally, my consent also includes the processing of my email address and telephone number for data matching for marketing purposes with select advertising partners such as LinkedIn, Google, and Meta. For this, Vogel Communications Group may transmit said data in hashed form to the advertising partners who then use said data to determine whether I am also a member of the mentioned advertising partner portals. Vogel Communications Group uses this feature for the purposes of re-targeting (up-selling, cross-selling, and customer loyalty), generating so-called look-alike audiences for acquisition of new customers, and as basis for exclusion for on-going advertising campaigns. Further information can be found in section “data matching for marketing purposes”.

In case I access protected data on Internet portals of Vogel Communications Group including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG, I need to provide further data in order to register for the access to such content. In return for this free access to editorial content, my data may be used in accordance with this consent for the purposes stated here. This does not apply to data matching for marketing purposes.

Right of revocation

I understand that I can revoke my consent at will. My revocation does not change the lawfulness of data processing that was conducted based on my consent leading up to my revocation. One option to declare my revocation is to use the contact form found at https://contact.vogel.de. In case I no longer wish to receive certain newsletters, I have subscribed to, I can also click on the unsubscribe link included at the end of a newsletter. Further information regarding my right of revocation and the implementation of it as well as the consequences of my revocation can be found in the data protection declaration, section editorial newsletter.