A little closer to the stars… This refrain from the 1980s could be sung by Carlos Tavares.
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Stellantis pushes the boundaries to deliver sustainable mobility freedom, from the road to the sky
," the automaker's boss ignited on a stage at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas, where the news was announced on Wednesday. .
Stellantis will in fact move from car manufacturing to mass production of aircraft from 2024. It will exclusively manufacture Midnight, the electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft of the American manufacturer Archer Aviation in its Covington plant ( Georgia).
Designed to be safe, durable, quiet, with a payload of over 45O kg, it can carry four passengers plus a pilot.
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Its autonomy of 160 km allows it to make short journeys of around 30 km, with a charging time of around 10 minutes between each stage.
Originally, Fiat Chrysler partnered with Archer two years ago… at CES.
The manufacturer was present in aeronautics from 1918 with its Fiat Aviazione division, which created engines and aircraft until 1989. Stellantis has planned to become a long-term investor in Archer's capital, even if it will remain a minority.
It will bring him 150 million euros of equity.
Beyond that, he plans to buy shares on the market to increase his stake.
Other automotive groups are associated with similar projects: Toyota with Joby Aviation, Hyundai and Supernal, Porsche and Eve… Why settle for the road?