A Regrettable Demise: The CityAirbus Project and its UAM Legacy in Ingolstadt
A grand edifice, reminiscent of medieval architecture.
Fast forward to today, the dreamy projections of air taxis zipping around city skies, once symbolized by the CityAirbus project, has turned into a distant memory for Ingolstadt. This ambitious electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi development by Airbus, unveiled with much fanfare in 2019, bit the dust in 2020, as part of a broader corporate strategy to focus on pressing priorities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a packed Ingolstadt town hall square, gathered TV teams and journalists were a tad disillusioned. The supposed revolutionary "air taxi" remained static, serving more as a prop than a functional vehicle during that event. Local pride was heavily invested in the project, as it symbolized Ingolstadt as a hotbed for cutting-edge future technology.
The Federal Minister of Transport, Andreas Scheuer, extolled the exhibit's virtues, cautioning against scrutiny from the rolling cameras. Fast forward, Andreas Scheuer has moved on from politics, and Airbus has bid adieu to the CityAirbus project, citing insufficient battery performance as the reason for its temporary hiatus. Rumors in the industry whispered the real cause was more about lagging competition with leaders like China and the USA, where air taxi devices were already in use.
Amidst this setback, the "Urban Air Mobility Ingolstadt Initiative" stepped in, gathering speed and amassing 93 members – a network of top German and European companies – willing to ride the turbulent waves of Urban Air Mobility (UAM). Despite the demise of two German air taxi companies, Lilium and Volocopter, Ingolstadt's current mayor, Dr. Michael Kern, remains optimistic. He echoes the possibilities of electric, unmanned air mobility as a relevant technology for the future; a sentiment backed by the prominent use of drones in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
However, skepticism lurks in the shadows, as many question whether human-carrying air taxis will truly take flight. Unmanned air taxis, some speculate, may prove to be Castles in the Air. Yet, Ingolstadt's role in the larger German UAM landscape remains promising, with the potential to benefit from regional initiatives and contribute to research related to UAM technologies. The future, as always, holds an uncertain yet captivating promise.
In the face of the CityAirbus project's demise, the Federal Minister of Transport, Andreas Scheuer, had expressed optimism for the Urban Air Mobility Ingolstadt Initiative, as it united top German and European companies aiming to pioneer urban air mobility (UAM) technology. This shift in focus comes as the finance sector grapples with the impact of insufficient battery performance and competitive pressure from industries like aerospace and technology, particularly in regions like China and the USA where air taxi devices are already in use.
