by Gilles Guillaume and Silvia Aloisi
PARIS (Reuters) – Stellantis and Archer announced on Wednesday a strengthening of their partnership by joining forces in the manufacture of the American group’s Midnight eVTOL vertical take-off electric plane, in which the car manufacturer born from the merger between PSA and FCA intends to strengthen its equity stake.
The taxi plane, which can carry five people over a range of 160 km, will be manufactured in Covington, in the American state of Georgia, from 2024. It is intended in particular for services of 30 km with a ten-minute cooldown between flights.
Stellantis, looking for new growth activities alongside its historical business in the design and assembly of ground vehicles, intends to produce “in series the Archer eVTOL as an exclusive contract manufacturer”, can we read in a press release.
On the strength of its experience in industrial mass production, which should help reduce the cost of manufacturing the aircraft, the Franco-Italian-American group has also announced its intention to make available to its partner 150 million dollars of financing in the form of equity investments.
Already a shareholder of the aeronautical company since 2021, Stellantis also intends to increase its stake in Archer by acquiring additional shares on the market in the future.
He does not intend to take control of Archer, but to remain a minority shareholder supporting the current management of the company.
Many industrial groups and new start-ups are currently rushing into the taxi plane segment, seen as a remedy for traffic jams between city centers and airports in particular.
Hyundai Motor is also collaborating with the aeronautical equipment manufacturer Honeywell International while Airbus has forged a partnership with Renault to develop a new generation of electric batteries, where the automotive industry is ahead, and to work together on hybridization.
“You can enjoy freedom of movement with different mobility tools,” said Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis during a press conference from Archer’s headquarters in San Francisco. “It could be a bicycle, a car, an airplane, anything else. So any high-tech piece of equipment that can provide safe, clean and affordable freedom of movement, that’s what matters to us. “
(With Tim Hepher, edited by Blandine Hénault and Matthieu Protard)
Copyright © 2023 Thomson Reuters
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