The air taxi manufacturer Lilium runs out of funds and will halt its operations.
Lilium is at risk of not being able to take off vertically again.
Lilium, the German air taxi manufacturer, has reported that it is on the brink of insolvency, two years before it promised to deliver its first two aircraft to customers. In a statement to the U.S. SEC, the company indicated that it cannot secure the necessary funding to continue operating through its subsidiaries Lilium GmbH and Lilium eAircraft GmbH. Since 2017, Lilium has been documented as a pioneer in this sector, thanks to a successful first flight in Germany.
Prior to this situation, Lilium had announced the commencement of assembly of its first two electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in Germany, while simultaneously working to obtain certification from EASA and the FAA. However, customer deliveries were not scheduled until 2026, just after the FAA finalized its regulations on operational requirements for eVTOLs this week.
Apparently, the company was unable to secure sufficient long-term funding and failed to obtain a €50 million loan backed by the state of Bavaria. Lilium also entered the U.S. market in 2021 through a reverse merger with a SPAC. It currently faces the possibility of losing control of its air taxi subsidiaries, although there is a chance that an operator may acquire these divisions before it is too late to save them. On the other hand, air taxi company Joby recently received a significant $500 million investment from Toyota, achieving its certification as a Part 135 air carrier with the FAA in 2022, while Archer also received its certification this year.
