Lilium was once a promising ‘air taxi’ startup worth billions. Now it’s on the brink of insolvency
German company Lilium produces flying electric passenger drones.
Lilium
German aerospace startup Lilium faces insolvency if it doesn’t raise emergency funding from the state government for the southeastern state of Bavaria.
Insolvency would mark a dramatic fall for a startup once touted as Europe’s best chance at building the 21st-century equivalent of “cars” that can fly.
Lilium is one of a series of firms trying to build “eVTOLs,” or electric vertical take-off and landing, vehicles.
Popularly known as flying cars or air taxis, these vehicles are being developed by startups in the United States, Europe and Asia.
Today, however, Lilium is in trouble. The company is desperately trying to raise taxpayer funds in Germany. And so far, it’s been unsuccessful.
What happened?
Lilium has been negotiating an emergency capital injection with both Germany’s federal government and the Bavarian state government.
The firm had requested 50 million euros ($54 million) of loans from the federal government. However, its request was rejected by German lawmakers.
In a regulatory filing released last week, Lilium said it had “received indication that the budget committee of the parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany will not approve a €50 million guarantee of a contemplated €100 million convertible loan.”
The proposed state aid would have been issued by KfW, the German state-owned development bank.
Lilium is “continuing discussions with the Free State of Bavaria with respect to a guarantee of at least €50 million,” Lilium added in its filing.
A Lilium spokesperson told CNBC the company doesn’t plan to comment further beyond the statement outlined in its 6K filing.
In response to Germany’s decision to deny Lilium state aid, Hubert Aiwanger, Bavaria’s economy minister, criticized the move, saying it was “regrettable” that the federal government opted not to support the firm.
Danijel Višević, co-founder of Berlin-based climate technology investors World Fund, said that though it was “understandable” lawmakers denied Lilium support over concerns around the government supporting one single company over another, there was a misguided notion among politicians that air taxis are a “toy for millionaires.” This idea, he said, was “too short-sighted.”
Višević suggested it was unfair that U.S. electric car manufacturer Tesla — which burned through billions of dollars before making a profit — was once able to receive a U.S. government loan, but Lilium was not.
What Lilium tried to build
“Flying cars” perhaps isn’t the right term. But what Lilium was ultimately trying to bring to the world was a vertical take-off and landing aircraft that could fly people from one city to another to ease congestion on the roads.
The company initially wanted to roll out its own digital “hailing” service that would have seen users order rides on its jets from designated areas where it would be possible for the vehicle to take off and land.
Lilium subsequently decided to change its business model.
Rather than develop the whole service on its own, the company opted to partner up with airlines and airport operators, which would build out the service product and infrastructure needed to power its ambitions.
Lilium’s jets can cost as much as $9 million. The company also had a six-seater version in development, which would have set a buyer back about $7 million.
Lilium struck major deals with the likes of Lufthansa in Germany and Saudia in Saudi Arabia. It also agreed a tie-up with Groupe ADP, an international airport operator based in Paris.
Rise and fall
Founded by four university students in 2015, Lilium rapidly gained a reputation as one of Europe’s best-funded air taxi firms.
The company managed to raise hundreds of millions of dollars from investors including China’s Tencent, Atomico and Earlybird.
In September 2021, Lilium went public on the Nasdaq via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company called SPAC Qell.
At its height, Lilium was worth as much as $3.3 billion. Its shares have tanked to less than 50 cents — a more than 95% plunge from its stock market debut.
Environment
Podcast: GMC Sierra EV Denali first drive, Hyundai Ioniq 9 unveiling, Jaguar rebranding, and more
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss our GMC Sierra EV Denali first drive, Hyundai Ioniq 9 unveiling, Jaguar’s rebranding, and more.
Sponsored by ALSET Auto: North America’s leader in paint protection and restyling; offering colored wraps, paint protection, window tint, ceramic coatings and more, exclusively on EVs.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
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Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET):
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It’s official: Chrysler will finally launch an electric Pacifica minivan. The company is developing clever storage ideas that could make it even more functional than Volkswagen’s recently introduced ID.Buzz. But you’ll have to wait a little longer to get your hands on one.
Chrysler confirms plans to launch an electric Pacifica
Chrysler has yet to release its first fully electric vehicle. Although the nearly 100-year-old automaker has teased several EV concepts, we have yet to see one come to fruition. That will change soon.
Earlier this year, the company revealed its Halcyon Concept, a futuristic sports car-like EV drastically different from Chrysler vehicles currently on the road. The model builds on previous concepts, like the Airflow crossover introduced in 2022.
Chrysler’s CEO, Christine Feuell, said the Halycon would be brought to life with advanced new tech from parent company Stellantis, sleek new styling, and a software-defined connected cockpit.
The radical design will be used in future Chrysler vehicles, including the electric Pacifica. At the LA Auto Show this week, Feuell confirmed to GreenCarReports that the Pacifica is due for an overhaul in 2026. The refresh will lay the groundwork for the first electric Pacifica, which is expected to launch the following year.
Chrysler’s CEO hinted the upcoming Pacifica EV could challenge Volkswagen’s ID.Buzz, the first electric minivan to arrive in the US.
While you’ll need to remove the seats for that open-air space in the ID.Buzz, Chrysler is working on more functional solutions. According to Feuell, the company is developing a system like its patented Stow ‘N Go Seating to open up space in the rear.
Although nothing is set in stone, one option is adjustable front seats, enabling the second row to be stored underneath.
Electrek’s Take
As Chrysler’s only production model in 2024, it only makes sense to launch an electric Pacifica. The Pacifica hybrid was the fourth best-selling plug-in hybrid in the US in Q3. It also accounted for 14% (3,009) of the 21,504 Pacifica models sold last quarter.
Meanwhile, the company is quickly losing market share in the US. Pacifica sales crashed 44% in Q3 and are down 18% through September.
Several new larger electric SUVs, like the Kia EV9, are already hitting the market, and more are on the way, including the recently unveiled Hyundai IONIQ 9. With the electric Pacifica not due out until 2027 (at the earliest), Chrysler will likely continue losing ground as new, more advanced competitors roll out.
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Tesla has converted an entire Shell gas station into a Supercharger station for electric vehicles in Spain, and it looks fantastic.
One of the favorite arguments of electric vehicle naysayers is that there are not as many charging stations as gas stations – making EVs less convenient.
The argument is flawed since most EVs are charged overnight when parked, and they can be charged literally anywhere there’s an electric outlet, which is not the case with gas-powered vehicles.
Most of the time, charging electric vehicles is more convenient than refueling a gas-powered car, and that’s going to become more widespread as time goes on because there are more charging stations being deployed, and many gas stations are going away.
In some markets where electric vehicles are being adopted at a higher rate, like in Norway, gas stations have been closing left and right.
In some cases, EV charging stations are directly replacing some.
Today, we get to see a beautiful example in Cordoba, Spain, where Tesla took over a Shell gas station and converted it into (hat tip to Aland≡Bru on X):
While it is not completed, it’s particularly interesting to see that Tesla has kept a similar design to the classic gas station setup.
To be fair, this is not exactly a new concept. There’s even a company that specializes in replacing gas stations with EV charging stations.
We have also previously seen gas station operators replacing gas pumps with charging stalls.
Interestingly, even the oil giant Shell, which is seeing its gas station here replaced by a Tesla Supercharger here, is investing in electric vehicle charging through several new efforts.
The only thing missing to this charging station is solar power, which is the best way to charger your electric car, and the best solar is on your home. If you want to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage. EnergySage is a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar – whether you’re a homeowner or renter. They have hundreds of vetted solar installers competing for your business (including Tesla and Powerwall certified installers in some markets), ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20 to 30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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