SAO PAULO - Brazilian aeronautics company Embraer and its urban mobility subsidiary Eve said they would build a factory near Sao Paulo to manufacture electric flying taxis that could take off as soon as 2026.
The factory for "electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft" or eVTOL, will be built in the city of Taubate in Sao Paulo state, the companies announced on the 150th anniversary of the birth of Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos Dumont.
The drone-like passenger vehicles, which resemble small helicopters, will initially be used in taxi fleets, with the first flights costing about $50 to $100 per person per trip, company sources told AFP.
The initial flights will have a pilot, but a later rollout of self-piloted vehicles is also on the cards.
Each eVTOL can carry four to six passengers.
The vehicles will be 100 percent electric, allowing for emissions-free flights.
Embraer said it has already received orders for 2,850 eVTOLs worth about $1.5-billion from 28 clients in several countries, including helicopter operators, airlines and flight-sharing platforms.
Listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Eve Air Mobility, which has not yet reported revenues, recorded a net loss of $25-million in the first quarter of 2023, due in particular to expenses related to research and development of the eVTOL.
Sao Paulo, a megalopolis of 11.5 million people with monster traffic jams, has the largest helicopter fleet in the world.
"We believe in the enormous potential of the global Urban Air Mobility market," Embraer president Francisco Gomes Neto said in a statement.
Added Eve vice president of program management and operation, Alice Altissimo: "We are equipped to efficiently scale the production volume sustainably to meet the demands of a growing market."