Lilium postpones market launch until 2025

The Bavarian electric aerial taxi start-up Lilium has postponed its planned market launch by one year. Instead of 2024, the electric vertical take-off is now expected to be approved in 2025 and thus begin commercial operation.

Lilium CEO Daniel Wiegand told Welt am Sonntag that there were several reasons for the postponement. These included slight delays in the design of the model, the pandemic and detailed discussions with the regulatory authorities.

Lilium has been listed in the US since September 2021. Whether the change of plans will have an impact on investors only a few months after the IPO is currently still open. Lilium had not yet hinted at a possible delay in a shareholder letter published at the end of February, and only now have the US stock exchange documents been updated. Investors could therefore feel misinformed and take legal action against the company.

Wiegand, however, stressed the importance of safety. “It is a highly complex programme, and we cannot and do not want to compromise on safety,” the Lilium CEO told media representatives.

Wiegand had already announced the move on the company blog at the end of March, albeit hidden in an entry about a meeting with suppliers: “After completing the compliant aircraft building process, we will then spend the following 15-18 months conducting our final test campaign with the goal of obtaining our first type certificate in 2025, with series production of our aircraft starting immediately after certification.”

What is clear is then the delay will also have a financial impact on the company. “If the certification is postponed, the turnover will also be postponed,” Wiegand said. However, he did not give details.

welt.de (in German), lilium.com