SkyDrive and Suzuki Announce Basic Agreement for Manufacture of eVTOL Aircraft

SkyDrive has added to its announcements from the 2023 Paris Air Show, providing more detail on its partnership with Suzuki, announced last year.

Under the basic agreement, SkyDrive will begin manufacture of its eVTOL aircraft utilizing a Suzuki production facility in the Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan. The two companies aim to start building the eVTOL no later than spring of 2024. Suzuki will also cooperate with SkyDrive in securing human resources and making other preparations for the start of manufacturing. More specific terms and conditions will be agreed upon through ongoing discussions.

“We are excited to cooperate with SkyDrive as we ambitiously work towards creating valuable products that contribute to the realization of a world where people use the sky for their daily transportations,” said Toshihiro Suzuki, Suzuki Motor Corporation President.

Tomohiro Fukuzawa, SkyDrive Inc. CEO added, “At Suzuki, all manufacturing activities are based on a concept, ‘Smaller, Fewer, Lighter, Shorter, and Neater’ and SkyDrive is developing lightweight air mobilities.  Suzuki and SkyDrive have been collaborating since March 2022 and we are very excited that SkyDrive will utilize the production facility of Suzuki to build our eVTOL ‘SKYDRIVE.’ In our pursuit to consistently manufacture safe and high-quality aircraft for the world, we are grateful for the valuable know-how we will learn from Suzuki, a global leader in automobile mass production. Suzuki and SkyDrive will work closely towards the shared goal.”

Why it matters: Originally announced in 2022, the SkyDrive and Suzuki partnership mirrors that of many other eVTOL/automotive partnerships in the industry. By leveraging Suzuki’s decades of expertise in automotive design and manufacturing, SkyDrive can more rapidly scale manufacturing of its eVTOL platform. Expect more updates on progress of the production of SkyDrive as the two work towards their goal of a 2024 start date.

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