On November 7, Volant Aerospace announced that it recently signed strategic cooperation agreements with several companies, including China Southern Airlines General Aviation, Deer Jet, China General Aviation, and China Feilong. These partnerships, established at the 7th China International Import Expo, resulted in over 165 new intent orders for the VE25-100 model, totaling more than 3.5 billion RMB.
In terms of financial partnerships, Volant also reached agreements with Agricultural Bank of China Financial Leasing and China Southern Airlines Leasing to explore financing models such as leasing for the VE25-100 eVTOL. Additionally, it secured a multi-billion RMB credit line from the Shanghai branch of the Bank of Communications, providing comprehensive financial support to accelerate eVTOL commercialization.
Prior to this, Volant Aerospace received substantial capital injections, completing five rounds of billion-RMB-level financing in 2024 alone, highlighting the industry's rapid growth.
With these new orders, Volant's VE25-100 eVTOL has now accumulated strategic partnerships and intent orders for over 860 units, valued at 22 billion RMB. These orders encompass six major eVTOL application scenarios, including low-altitude tourism, training, short-distance transport, cargo, emergency rescue, and urban mobility.
The VE25-100, Volant Aerospace's first product, is positioned as a commercial passenger aircraft with a six-seat all-passenger layout. The aircraft measures 9.5 meters in length with a 16-meter wingspan, a takeoff weight of 2.5 tons, a range of 200-400 kilometers, and a cruising speed of 235 km/h. It is currently the world's largest known eVTOL by takeoff weight and offers the most spacious cabin among passenger eVTOLs.
In September 2023, the VE25-100 eVTOL officially entered the type certification process, marking the first passenger eVTOL project to be accepted by the Civil Aviation Administration of China's East China Regional Administration. The first review meeting of the VE25-100's type certification was held successfully on October 23, 2024, signaling a significant step forward in its airworthiness certification process.
Notably, in addition to Volant Aerospace, GAC (Gasgoo) reports that during the Expo, Vision Future received an order from PuYin Leasing for 100 M1 pure electric passenger eVTOLs, with an intent order scale exceeding 1 billion RMB. Additionally, Times Technology signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Abu Dhabi-based Autocraft to jointly explore and expand the commercial applications of the E20 eVTOL in diverse markets, such as low-altitude tourism and aerial mobility in the UAE.
