Volocopter VoloCity
Volocopter · Germany · Air Mobility · also known as VoloCity, Volocopter VC200-derived air taxi · Updated
Volocopter VoloCity is a two-seat, battery-electric multirotor air taxi developed in Bruchsal, Germany. It carries people: the cabin seats two, and the design has been flown both with a pilot on board and with nobody aboard under remote and automatic control. It was intended as the first Volocopter model to enter commercial service, and the programme continued after the company passed through insolvency proceedings and changed owners in 2025.
Design and capabilities
The VoloCity keeps the layout Volocopter has used since its earlier demonstrators: a circular rotor rim above a small cabin, carrying eighteen fixed-pitch rotors driven by eighteen electric motors. Volocopter describes the aircraft as an all-electric design with eighteen rotors and seating for two people plus hand luggage. Control comes from varying the speed of individual rotors rather than from swashplates or tilting surfaces, which keeps the mechanical layout simple and allows any single motor to fail without loss of control.
Published figures give a length of about 9.5 m, a rotor rim span of about 11.3 m and a height of about 2.5 m, with an empty weight near 700 kg and a maximum take-off weight of 900 kg. Payload is quoted between 150 and 200 kg. Performance is short-range: about 35 km with a cruise speed near 100 km/h and a maximum speed of about 110 km/h, and a service ceiling of roughly 1,980 m. Volocopter has said it aims at short urban hops and airport shuttle routes rather than longer journeys. The aircraft made a crewed flight on 13 April 2022.
Programme status
Volocopter had been pursuing a European Union Aviation Safety Agency type certificate for the VoloCity when its funding ran out. The company filed for insolvency on 30 December 2024, becoming the second German electric aircraft developer to seek insolvency protection that month. Its assets were bought by the Chinese group Wanfeng, and in March 2025 the deal was reported as complete, with Volocopter absorbed into Wanfeng's Diamond Aircraft business. Under the new ownership Volocopter resumed work on the two-seat VoloCity, with fewer than half of its former staff returning after the restructuring. No type certificate has been reported as issued, and no service entry date is confirmed by the sources listed here.
FAQ
Is it flying today? Prototypes have flown, including a crewed flight in April 2022, but the type is not certificated and is not in commercial service.
How many people does it carry? Two, in an enclosed cabin.
Did the company go bankrupt? Volocopter filed for insolvency on 30 December 2024. Wanfeng bought the assets and, in March 2025, folded the business into Diamond Aircraft; development of the VoloCity restarted with a reduced workforce.
