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Geely Invests in Second Flying Car Company
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, which acquired flying car developer Terrafugia Inc. two years ago, has invested in German startup Volocopter GmbH.
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Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, which acquired flying car developer Terrafugia Inc. two years ago, has invested in German startup Volocopter GmbH.
The Chinese carmaker led the third-round funding that raised €50 million ($55 million). Daimler AG, which invested in Volcopter in 2017, also contributed to the new round.
Volocopter has now raised €85 million ($94 million). The money will go toward research and development, meeting safety and regulatory requirements, expanding business partnerships and eventually launching commercial air taxi and cargo delivery services.
As part of its investment, Geely will get about a 10% stake in Volocopter. Co-founders Alexander Zosel and Stephan Wolf continue to hold a controlling interest in the company.
Volocopter, which has been testing autonomous vertical takeoff and landing aircraft for several years, originally aimed to launch commercial applications by late 2017. The company now is targeting pilot programs in Dubai, Singapore and an unnamed European city early next decade. It also will work with Geely on applications in China.
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