Archer Aviation Inc Expects To Produce 250 Air Taxis By 2025 and FAA Sertifikasi Certification

Archer Aviation Inc targets to make around 250 taxis fly. (photo: @ArcherAviation ·)

JAKARTA - Archer Aviation Inc said it is targeting to make around 250 battery-electric air taxis by 2025. The startup will also increase production in the following years, after setting a target to obtain aircraft certification by the end of 2024.

"In our first year we will build 250 aircraft, the second year we will build 500 aircraft, the third year we will build 650 aircraft and then we increase that to about 2,000 aircraft per year," Archer Aviation Inc CEO Adam Goldstein told Reuters in an interview statement.

Archer wants to get certified for an aircraft capable of carrying its pilot-plus-four passengers called the 'Midnight', by the end of 2024. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is still in the process of drafting certification rules for this futuristic aircraft. So we don't know when the certification will be issued.

"In terms of aircraft production, we expect our Archer model to be roughly close to 20 units by 2025," said JPM analyst Bill Peterson.

"We're not negative on space, but think it will take longer to play with less steep climbs as these companies projected on their SPAC decks from over a year ago," he added.

Once certified, the California-built Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) electric aircraft will compete in a busy market with dozens of other air taxi developers such as Joby Aviation Inc and Vertical Aerospace Ltd vying to improve urban transportation.

This nascent sector, backed by industry heavyweights such as Toyota Motor Corp and Delta Air Lines, still faces significant challenges in terms of certification, development of appropriate air traffic management systems, and upgrading of battery technology, among other controls.

In May, the FAA said it was modifying its regulatory approach to certifying eVTOL by defining it as a powered lift aircraft rather than a small aircraft, which could add to concerns over certification delays.

Goldstein anticipates the industry may see demand for a thousand eVTOL aircraft each year. He believes this industry has very good prospects.