EVEX - Flying taxi buzz: Archer Aviation and Stellantis deepen eVTOL partnership

2023-06-19 10:23:14 ET

Archer Aviation ( NYSE: ACHR ) and Stellantis N.V. ( STLA ) announced at the Paris Air Show on Monday that the collaboration has made progress with the manufacturing of the world’s first high-volume eVTOL aircraft manufacturing facility located in Georgia.

Some of the near-term goals are to lock up regulatory acceptance for eVTOLs and boost production of Archer’s Midnight aircraft, which will be capable of flying distances up to 87nm (161km) and  engineered to fly at speeds up to 130kt (241km/h).

As part of the strategic partnership, Stellantis ( STLA ) also recently increased its strategic shareholding in Archer Aviation ( ACHR ) through a series of stock purchases of ACHR stock in the open market. The European auto giant said it plans to remain just a minority shareholder in Archer Aviation ( ACHR ).

On the development front, the Stellantis and Archer teams are said to moving at full speed in execution mode to achieve the goal of bringing scalable manufacturing of Archer’s aircraft online in mid-2024. There are now experienced Stellantis ( STLA ) personnel working full time alongside the Archer team, supporting operational readiness with the current focus being on manufacturing automation and component sourcing. Stellantis ( STLA ) personnel are now embedded across almost all areas of Archer’s operations, including manufacturing, engineering, supply chain, quality, facilities and human resources. Initial manufacturing operations will be capable of producing up to 650 aircraft per year with room for expansion to support production of up to 2,300 aircraft per year. Manufacturing aircraft at those volumes would make the Georgia site the world’s leading aircraft manufacturing facility by volume.

"We believe this unique partnership is setting the standard for cross-industry collaboration and continues to be a key pillar of our strategy to ensure Stellantis ( STLA ) leads the way the world moves, providing freedom of mobility in all ways," noted Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares.

Alongside the production efforts, Archer Aviation ( ACHR ) is planning on moving into a phase of going from a couple of test flights a day to thousands of test flights per month.

Shares of Archer Aviation ( ACHR ) gained 14% last week after the company announced that former FAA Administrator Billy Nolen had joined the company as its Chief Safety Officer and with some Paris Air Show buzz building. The stock has a consensus Buy rating on Wall Street and is a favorite at ARK Research. The general bullish thesis is that Archer's ( ACHR ) electric vertical takeoff and landing service, when operated at scale, should be able to transport individuals from big cities to airports in a fraction of the time and at the same price as taxi rides today. Archer Aviation ( ACHR ) is given a chance by bulls to revolutionize mobility with its eVTOL products and services through the backing of Stellantis ( STLA ).

Other players in the eVTOL industry include Beta Technologies, Wisk, Jetson, Blade Air Mobility ( BLDE ), Joby Aviation ( JOBY ), Lilium N.V. ( LILM ), Vertical Aerospace ( EVTL ), Uber ( UBER ), Embraer ( ERJ ) and Volocopter. Of note, XPeng ( XPEV ) is partnering with urban air mobility company HT Aero with a concept closer to Jetsons-style flying cars and United Airlines ( UAL ) has a stake in Eve Holdings ( EVEX ). Toyota ( TM ) and JetBlue ( BLUE ) have stakes in Joby Aviation ( JOBY ).

More on eVTOL stocks:

• Archer Aviation: eVTOL Stock Flying High
• Air taxi interest heats up as FAA highlights milestones
• Archer Aviation is called an undervalued eVTOL stock by JPMorgan after earnings
• FAA updates air mobility blueprint for flying taxis

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