Lilium’s 400 eVTOL air taxi annual production goal seeks funding

This is shaping up to be a busy and auspicious week for electric takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi developer Lilium. Just days after the German company hailed the success of its Phoenix 2 prototype’s first full transition flight, its boss announced a search for new funding to enable what he said would be initial production targets of 400 craft each year.

The two events mark a maturing of Lilium as it advances eVTOL development toward certification, production, and launch of its future air taxis. On Wednesday the company posted a video on social media celebrating the first successful full-speed transition of its Phoenix 2 from vertical to horizontal flight. In a letter to shareholders the same day, Lilium’s recently arrived CEO Klaus Roewe described why the sortie was so significant in the craft’s evolution toward operation.