Volocopter flight is highlight of two-day event "Vision Smart City - Experience future mobility today"
Presentation of technical innovations and sustainable transport concepts for future mobility at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart
Stuttgart, 09. September 2019 – The Minister-President of the state of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, experienced the first European urban flight of the Volocopter in Stuttgart together with the Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, Ola Källenius, the CEO of Volocopter GmbH, Florian Reuter, and Thomas Strobl, Minister of the Interior, Digitalisation and Migration for Baden-Württemberg. The flight is a highlight of the two-day event "Vision Smart City - Experience the mobility of the future today".
At the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart technical innovations and sustainable transport concepts for future mobility are being presented. These include for example concepts of carsharing and electric vehicles. Besides Daimler and Lab 1886, Daimler´s innovation lab, the state of Baden-Württemberg is present at the event with numerous exhibits and information booths, as part of the “Strategic Dialogue for the Automotive Sector in Baden-Württemberg”, to demonstrate to the public in a tangible and accessible way the versatile future mobility developments made in Baden-Württemberg.
Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars: "Our partner Volocopter shows how an air taxi is turning the dream of driving into the dream of flying. At Daimler we work on the mobility of the future too. By 2022 we will have electrified the entire Mercedes-Benz portfolio. Our goal is that electrically powered cars will account for more than half of our sales by 2030. The road to climate-neutral mobility is a joint effort of companies and politics. We at Daimler a willing and ready to make our contribution.”
Winfried Kretschmann, Minister-President of the state of Baden-Württemberg: ""I am very pleased that “Vision Smart City” shows us future mobility ideas that are already being developed in Baden-Württemberg – concepts for sustainable cities of the future, for autonomous driving and the intelligent interaction between different mobility concepts. I am particularly proud that the “Strategic Dialogue for the Automotive Sector in Baden-Württemberg” is present at the event. This dialogue between industry, science, trade unions and politics shows, that climate protection and sustainable employment is possible at the same time."
Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter GmbH: "Our Volocopter air taxis open up a completely new dimension in urban mobility. As Stuttgart has seen today, they fly safely, quietly and are fast approching the implementation stage. Volocopter air taxis are able to ease traffic congestion in major cities around the world, also here in Germany."
Thomas Strobl, Deputy Minister President and Minister of the Interior, Digitalisation and Migration for Baden-Württemberg: "The mobility of the future must be intelligent, digital and clean, while remaining affordable. The transport concepts of major cities, medium-size towns and rural areas will certainly take different forms. There will be no universal blueprint. But we are already actively, innovatively and creatively working on mobility concepts for the future. We are the innovation region No. 1 in Europe - as demonstrated by the flight of the Volocopter and other projects presented at the event. The aim is to roll these out, and also to use the innovative strength of the municipalities."
The event is part of an initiative of a research project by the Technical University of Stuttgart to examine the social acceptance of air taxis.
Further information can be found here: www.vision-smart-city.com
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About Volocopter
The pioneer in the development of electrical air taxis that take off and land vertically (eVTOLs), Volocopter builds aircraft that are based on drone technology and carry two people. The company will establish Urban Air Mobility (UAM) in addition to current transportation options in megacities globally. The aim is to offer affordable on-demand air taxi services and save people time by flying them safely to their destination. Volocopter cooperates with leading partners in infrastructure, operations, and air traffic management to build the ecosystem necessary to bring Urban Air Mobility to life. In 2011 Volocopter performed the first-ever manned flight of a purely electrical multicopter and has since showcased numerous public flights with its full-scale, two-seat aircraft, most notably the autonomous flight in Dubai in cooperation with the local Road and Transport Administration (RTA) in 2017. Founded by Stephan Wolf and Alexander Zosel, Volocopter has more than 150 employees in offices in Bruchsal, Munich, and Singapore and is managed by CEO Florian Reuter, CTO Jan-Hendrik Boelens, and CFO Rene Griemens. The company has raised a total of EUR 85 million. Volocopter investors include Daimler, Geely, and Intel. Find out more at: www.volocopter.com
Daimler at a Glance
Daimler AG is one of the world’s most successful automotive companies. With its divisions Mercedes-Benz Cars, Daimler Trucks, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Daimler Buses and Daimler Financial Services, the Daimler Group is one of the biggest producers of premium cars and the world’s largest producer of trucks above 6 tons. Daimler Financial Services provides financing, leasing, fleet management, investment products and brokerage of credit cards and insurance, as well as innovative mobility services. The company’s founders, Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz, made history with the invention of the automobile in the year 1886. As a pioneer of automotive engineering, it is a motivation and commitment of Daimler to shape safely and sustainably the future of mobility. The Group’s focus is on innovative and green technologies as well as on safe and superior automobiles that appeal and fascinate. Daimler consequently invests in the development of efficient drive trains with the long-term goal of locally emission-free driving: from hightech combustion engines about hybrid vehicles to electric drive trains powered by battery or fuel cell. Furthermore, the company follows a consistent path towards intelligent connectivity of its vehicles, autonomous driving and new mobility concepts. This is just one example of how Daimler willingly accepts the challenge of meeting its responsibility towards society and the environment. Daimler sells its vehicles and services in nearly all the countries of the world and has production facilities in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Africa. Its current brand portfolio includes, in addition to the world’s most valuable premium automotive brand, Mercedes-Benz (Source: Interbrand-Study, 10/4/2018), as well as Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Maybach and Mercedes me, the brands smart, EQ, Freightliner, Western Star, BharatBenz, FUSO, Setra and Thomas Built Buses, and Daimler Financial Services’ brands: Mercedes-Benz Bank, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, Daimler Truck Financial, moovel, car2go and mytaxi. The company is listed on the stock exchanges of Frankfurt and Stuttgart (stock exchange symbol DAI). In 2018, the Group sold 3.4 million vehicles and employed a workforce of around 298,700 people. Group revenue amounted to € 167.4 billion. Group EBIT amounted to € 11.1 billion.
Oliver Wihofszki (Daimler), +49 711 17-40650, oliver.wihofszki@daimler.com
