Air cab start-up

No funding: Lilium is looking for a better location

The manned maiden flight of the all-electric, vertical take-off and landing flying cab has just been postponed until early 2025.(Bild: Lilium)

The Bavarian electric aircraft start-up Lilium is considering moving out of Germany. According to a report, the management is negotiating with the French government about subsidies and loan guarantees for a site in France. 

Lilium Supervisory Board Chairman and former Airbus CEO Tom Enders is traveling to China and the USA in September to look for investors, reported Handelsblatt. A company spokesperson declined to comment on this.

Further funds required
The pioneering company in the south of Munich had long hoped for a 100 million euro loan from the federal and state governments as start-up aid. Lilium employs around 500 aeronautical engineers. The manned maiden flight of the all-electric, vertical take-off and landing air cab has just been postponed to the beginning of 2025, with the first aircraft due to be delivered to customers in 2026.

But this will cost a lot of money; around 200 million euros were spent in the first half of 2024 alone. So far, the start-up, which is listed on the US Nasdaq stock exchange, has been financed by around 70 investors.

Reference to Airbus
Industry circles point out that e-aircraft developers in the USA and China receive government funding. Following the rejection of financial aid from Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, Dirk Hoke, head of the Baden-based e-flight cab manufacturer Volocopter, accused politicians of a lack of support. Tom Enders told Handelsblatt: "The Airbus success would never have happened without support from Germany and France."