German automaker Stellantis will invest an additional USD 55 mn in US-based, Mubadala-backed electric flying car manufacturer Archer Aviation, according to a press release. This comes a month after Stellantis purchased 8.3 mn shares of Archer’s stock, making it the largest shareholder in the Mubadala-backed firm.

What will the funds be used for? The investment will go towards accelerating Archer’s business initiatives, including replacing traditional 60 to 90 minute commutes by car with 10 to 20 minute electric air taxi flights, according to the statement. Archer also has plans to ramp up production of its vehicles by establishing a factory that can support it.

Archer is on track to complete its new manufacturing facility: Archer is nearing completion of its high-volume manufacturing facility in the US which is set to finish later this year, the statement says. The factory aims to produce up to 650 aircraft annually, making it one of the largest aircraft manufacturing facilities by volume.

REMEMBER- Stellantis already provided 150 mn in funding for Midnight: Stellantis provided an initial USD 150 mn in equity funding for the eVTOL to bolster Archer’s production capacity last year. The funds were set to be disbursed by Stellantis at its discretion in 2023 and 2024. Midnight is a 5-passenger vehicle with a flight range exceeding 160 kilometers and a top speed of over 240 km per hour. The aircraft is designed with short commutes in mind, with back-to-back trips over 30 kms being the primary target and short charging intervals of 10 minutes in between flights.

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