Stellantis and Archer Aviation Inc announced today that they would be expanding their partnership in a big way. The companies will work together to make Archer's most important aircraft, the Midnight eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) airplane.
Stellantis will help Archer build the recently announced manufacturing facility in Covington, Georgia, where the Midnight aircraft will be made starting in 2024. The Midnight eVTOL is said to be safe, sustainable, quiet, and able to carry four people and a pilot, with an expected payload of over 454 kilograms. Midnight has a range of about 160 kilometers (100 miles). It is best for short flights of about 32 kilometers (20 miles) and takes about 10 minutes to charge.
This unique partnership between the two companies will build on and take advantage of the strengths of each. Archer brings its world-class team of experts in eVTOL, electric propulsion, and certification to the partnership, and Stellantis brings its advanced manufacturing technology and expertise, experienced staff, and capital. This should make it easy to quickly increase the number of planes being made to meet Archer's plans for commercialization. At the same time, Archer can speed up the process of going on the market by avoiding spending hundreds of millions of dollars during the production ramp-up phase. The goal is for Stellantis to be the only company to make Archer's eVTOL aircraft in large numbers.
