Stellantis plans to create a distinct type of electric vehicle and launch a global lineup of electric cars and trucks, as reported by Green Car Report.
Objective
The automaker declared at CES in Las Vegas that it would construct the Archer Midnight electric plane and give $150 million in financing to California-based Archer Aviation in 2023 and 2024.
Archer’s Midnight Aircraft
The Midnight is one of the popular eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft used by mobility startups.
According to Stellantis’ press release, it has a range of 100 miles and is optimized for 20-minute trips with a 10-minute charging break in between. It uses numerous wing-mounted small rotors to achieve lift. With a pilot aboard, Archer can carry four passengers and a payload of more than 1,000 pounds.
Part of the deal
The manufacturing facility in Covington, Georgia, which Archer had previously announced, will now gain access to Stellantis’ manufacturing know-how and technology and the promised funding. Georgian aircraft production is expected to begin in 2024, with Stellantis serving as Archer’s sole contract manufacturer.
Long-standing Partnership
In 2020, Stellantis served as Archer’s “strategic partner.” It started investing in the business in 2021 and intends to increase its ownership by acquiring additional shares of Archer on the open market. Electric aircraft has drawn interest from several other automakers and have been promoted as an alternative mode of urban transportation.
According to a report from 2020, General Motors was considering using its Ultium battery structure in the market for electric air taxis. In 2019, Porsche and Boeing announced they were working together to develop a “premium urban air mobility vehicle.”
Such vehicles depend on quicker adoption of the Megawatt Charging Guidelines for electric semi trucks, which was formalized in 2022. Flying electric vehicle racing has been proposed as a testing ground for the battery packs for these vehicles in the interim.
