Lilium secures EU approval for its air taxis

Lilium NV (NASDAQ: LILM) opened in the green on Monday after receiving approval from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency for its flying taxis.

Lilium receives Design Organisation Approval

eVTOL – or the electric vertical take-off and landing aircrafts of the German firm are primarily meant for intercity travel.

Lilium expects its air taxis to deliver 300 kilometres of range on a single charge once they are ready for commercial flights. Alastair McIntosh – its Chief Technology Officer said in a statement today:

Note that Lilium started the back half of this year with about $386 million of liquidity. Its shares are currently down about 50% versus their year-to-date high.

Lilium faces competition from Boeing Co

Lilium is committed to launching commercial flights by 2025 – and faces severe competition not just from its German peer Volocopter but also from conventional giants like Boeing and Airbus.  

Air taxi was a market worth about $950 million last year but is expected to surpass $3.0 billion over the next five years that translates to a compound annual growth rate of 21.44%.

Earlier this year, Lilium received G-1 certification for its eVTOL in the United States. Heli-Eastern – a helicopter services provider based out of China also recently signed a preliminary agreement with the Nasdaq-listed firm to buy 100 of its flying taxis.

Wall Street currently has a consensus “hold” rating on shares of Lilium NV.