Volocopter unveiled the VoloXPro eVTOL at Aero Friedrichshafen on April 22 — an 18-rotor electric multicopter aimed squarely at European flight schools and GA pilots, priced from €490,000 and targeting light sport aircraft certification in Germany before the end of 2026.
It’s the company’s first major product launch since Diamond Aircraft acquired the insolvency-stricken Volocopter in March 2025 for a reported €10 million — a fraction of the company’s earlier valuation, which had been supported by hundreds of millions of euros in funding over the years. Diamond’s parent, Chinese automotive supplier Wanfeng Auto Holding Group, has since been associated with a faster, more commercially grounded market entry strategy at the Bruchsal-based developer.
A Ground-Up Redesign — Not a Rebadge
The VoloXPro looks familiar. It isn’t. Despite visual similarities to earlier Volocopter aircraft, Chief Technology Officer David Bausek was blunt at the Friedrichshafen press conference: “We have totally changed the aircraft so it has nothing to do with the old one.” The ring of 18 electrically powered rotors remains, but everything inside has been redesigned from scratch.
Key specs: maximum take-off mass of 600 kg — the ceiling for European light sport aircraft classification — a 154 kg payload, cruise speed of 70 km/h (43 mph), and a maximum range of 40 km (25 miles). The aircraft shares its flight-control computers and avionics architecture with the heavier VoloCity, while offering a modular battery system with three configurations — a deliberate move that allows certification credit to carry over and accelerates the approval timeline.
Three battery configurations are available through a modular system. The cockpit can be spec’d anywhere from a minimalist single-screen glass panel with collision-warning assistance to a high-end professional fit. Fly-by-wire controls are standard throughout.
The Trainer Pitch
Volocopter is positioning the VoloXPro as the cost-efficient on-ramp to the broader powered-lift eVTOL category. Bausek laid out the commercial logic plainly:
“At €490,000 for the baseline model, it is a super-cost-efficient trainer. With this rating and transition training you could fly a Joby or an Archer — all the other aircraft that are in this category. If you run a flight school or are paying for your own training it needs to be as cost-efficient as possible — you would not train in a $6 million aircraft, it makes no sense.”
Senior Business Development Manager Marie Masson framed the VoloXPro as the direct product of merging Diamond’s certification muscle and supply chain with Volocopter’s electric propulsion know-how. She also pushed back hard on the eVTOL industry’s credibility problem:
“If we look at the eVTOL industry, there has been a lot of talk and marketing over the last few years. We’re the only eVTOL in Europe right now. What you’re seeing is not just renderings of an aircraft that will fly in the future. It’s already flying now.”
Milestones Ahead
The roadmap is aggressive. A final prototype is expected ready for flight testing in June 2026. The orderbook opens in September, when Volocopter also plans to begin demonstration flights from a sandbox test area around its Bruchsal base. German light sport aircraft certification is targeted for late 2026, with parallel approval processes running in other European countries simultaneously.
Volocopter has already secured a Special Flight Permit from China’s Civil Aviation Administration for the VoloXPro. Talks are ongoing with several Chinese cities — where Wanfeng’s network opens doors — about project-based orders tied to local manufacturing arrangements.
ADAC Luftrettung, Volocopter’s long-standing emergency services partner, is expected to participate in select sandbox missions exploring eVTOL applications for air rescue operations. The VoloCity, meanwhile, continues its separate EASA SC-VTOL type certification track, with type certification expected in 2027 and first deliveries to ADAC planned within the next 12 to 18 months.
The June prototype flight test and the September orderbook opening are the two milestones worth watching. They’ll reveal whether Volocopter’s post-insolvency pivot is translating from an Aero Friedrichshafen announcement into a real program.
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