NEW DELHI: India can become the largest market for eVTOLs (electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft), and SkyDrive will look at opportunities for manufacturing the aircraft in India in future, said Tomohiro Fukuzawa, Founder & CEO, SkyDrive. The Japanese new-age company and its manufacturing partner Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) expect to clear regulatory hurdles in 2 years and launch commercial operations soon after.
eVTOLs are battery-powered vehicles that take off, hover, and land like helicopters but run on electric motors.
“In the next 10 years, India may become the biggest market for eVTOLs due to its large population. Traffic jams and the problem of transition might become an issue here and in these cases eVTOLs can provide a solution,” said Fukuzawa.
He added that, to begin with, production will take place in Japan, but as they go forward they would want to have a facility near the market. “I believe India will be one of the biggest markets, and also we have a supply chain here for aircraft. So it just means building an aircraft in India will not be only for India, but also for the Middle East or Africa,” said SkyDrive.
The Japanese firm has so far raised $290 million from a clutch of about 30 investors. SMC, the parent firm of India’s largest car company Maruti Suzuki, is one of the main investors and also the manufacturing partner for SkyDrive’s aircraft.
Before commencing operations, SkyDrive has orders for 450 aircraft, primarily from helicopter operators in markets such as Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East, and the US. The company claims to price their aircraft about 50% lower than twin-engine helicopters.
Mayur Shah, Executive Director - Strategy & Planning, Suzuki R&D Centre India said that in the next 2 years, the plan is to get type certification, which one normally gets for aircraft in the US and Japan. Post that, they will apply for certification in India. “We are already in direct contact with the DGCA. Once global certification is in place, it will be easier to get approval in India as well…following the approvals we will launch commercial services here,” added Shah.
Last month, Air India, SkyDrive and Suzuki Motor Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to conduct a joint feasibility study on the use of eVTOL aircraft for medical air logistics in India. Shah said eVTOLs can play a major role in providing fast last-mile connectivity in the healthcare sector. Fukuzawa added that these aircraft, which have a payload of 300 kg, can carry up to 2-3 passengers up to 30km on a single charge.