Electric air taxis will provide ‘another option for people to move around the city,’ Eve Co-CEO says
The future of electric mobility is expanding beyond cars and trucks as another aircraft startup hits the public markets.
Eve (EVEX), which hopes to bring electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to the skies by 2026, debuted on the New York Stock exchange via a SPAC merger with Zanite Acquisition Corp on May 10. Instead of trying to capture share from airlines, the company is working to make flying cars a reality and displace rideshare stalwarts like Uber (UBER).
“I don’t intend to solve all the traffic problems, but what we are bringing, it’s a new solution,” Eve co-CEO Andre Stein told Yahoo Finance Live (video above). “It’s another option for people to move around the city. So if you need to be home earlier, if you need to catch a flight, you can cut that down maybe 10, 15 minutes.”
Eve co-CEO Jerry DeMuro added that from “a pricing point of view, really, when we move into service, we’re looking at something that would be comparable to an UberX.”
eVTOLs ‘a long-term initiative’
The early-stage company faces a number of obstacles in its path, including eventual FAA approval and a volatile market for IPOs.
Since going public, Eve has already experienced some turbulent trading sessions.
“The temporary fluctuations in the market are not that concerning to us,” DeMuro said. “This is really a long-term initiative, and we’re focused on executing on that development plan. We’ve got a great balance sheet that will carry us through there.”
Eve will also have to face an eVTOL landscape crowded with competitors like Archer Aviation (ACHR) and Joby (JOBY). At one point, Uber began its own eVTOL arm, though it has since sold off the project to Joby.
“It’s not that important to be first; it’s important to get it right. I think that’s the main goal,” Stein said. “We are here, as Jerry said, for the long term. So it’s important to get the right products, not only for our direct customers but particularly for the end-user.”
With an urban air mobility market predicted to be worth $760 billion, the company is committed to what Stein called “a completely new segment for aerospace.” Eve forecasts it will be bringing in $4.5 billion in revenue by 2030.
Edwin is a producer for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter @Edwin__Roman.
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