Volocopter Opens First Public VoloCity Exhibition in Asia
Volocopter has partnered with Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education (ITE) to launch a VoloCity public exhibition, the first to feature its commercial air taxi model in Asia, and the company’s first-ever long-term exhibition to open its doors in the world.
Minister for Trade and Industry Mr Gan Kim Yong, and German Ambassador to Singapore Dr Norbert Riedel, both attended the opening ceremony alongside senior representatives from Singapore government agencies and Volocopter partners.
Yong said: “Singapore welcomes innovative companies like Volocopter which seek to build entirely new industries here.
“We are excited about the prospects of developing an Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) ecosystem in Singapore, and hope that through this exhibit, the public can learn more about this new form of urban mobility.”
Riedel added: “Singapore and Germany enjoy excellent bilateral relations and are important trade partners.
“We are pleased to see continued cooperation in various sectors, especially in emerging industries such as urban air mobility, and we believe both countries stand to benefit from these collaborations.”
Located at Aerospace Hub, ITE College Central, the exhibition features a 3D VoloPort scale model and visitors will have the chance to sit in the aircraft. Singapore is one of the first launch cities for Volocopter, which conducted Asia’s first crewed public test flight of an air taxi in a city centre over Singapore’s iconic Marina Bay in 2019.
The company recently released a dedicated roadmap that revealed its UAM services could generate an estimated SGD 4.18 billion in cumulative economic benefits and create up to 1,300 jobs in Singapore by 2030.
Volocopter chief commercial officer Christian Bauer said: “This is the perfect time to showcase our VoloCity in Singapore, as our latest local market survey showed a significant uptick in the proportion of respondents wanting to try an air taxi service.
“ITE is an ideal place to display our aircraft, as we hope to inspire the next generation of aviation talent to engage with the emerging UAM industry.”
ITE chief executive officer Low Khah Gek said: “ITE is privileged to host VoloCity’s first Asian exhibition, which will boost our plans to equip students with the relevant skill sets and provide the industry know-how and exposure that will encourage applied learning.”
With two seats and 18 rotors, VoloCity is Volocopter’s first commercial product and is currently working toward achieving certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
In May, Jetex and Volocopter partnered to deploy urban air mobility (UAM) taxi services in Miami, Singapore and Paris, where Jetex has already established a presence.