Stellantis to Build New eVTOL Exclusively in the U.S.

Automaker Stellantis announced this past Thursday they plan on expanding upon a previous partnership with Archer Aviation, adding its manufacturing experience to aid in producing the latter company’s electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, aircraft. Named “Midnight,” this eVTOL is now planned to be mass-produced in the U.S.

Archer Aviation is based in Santa Clara, California, and aims to deploy 6,000 of these eVTOL aircraft by 2030. The company specializes in designing and developing electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, particularly for use in urban air mobility networks such as air taxi services.

Since their founding in 2018, Archer has established working relationships with United Airlines, Stellantis, and the United States Air Force. In 2022, the company finished the preliminary design of its Midnight eVTOL, which was unveiled this past December.

According to the Stellantis press release, the company will expand its partnership with Archer Aviation by providing up to $150 million in equity capital at the eVTOL developer’s discretion through 2024, subject to the achievement of certain business milestones this year.

Stellantis also shared plans to increase its shares through future purchases of Archer stock in the open market, thus increasing its overall long-term investment in the company and its technology. 

Speaking about the partnership, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said his company has “been working closely with Archer for the past two years, and I am continually impressed by their ingenuity and unwavering commitment to deliver. Deepening our partnership with Archer as a strategic investor with plans for growing our shareholding demonstrates how Stellantis is pushing the boundaries to provide sustainable freedom of mobility, from the road to the sky. Supporting Archer with our manufacturing expertise is another example of how Stellantis will lead the way the world moves.”