Vertical Aerospace has opened a new Aircraft Assembly Centre at Cotswold Airport in Gloucestershire, the first production facility of its kind in the UK. The facility will produce the company's electric Valo air taxi, supported by a 1.5 million pound investment, marking Vertical's transition from prototype developer to aircraft manufacturer ahead of certification targeted for 2029.

Vertical Aerospace is headquartered in Bristol, UK, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker: EVTL). The company has not yet generated revenue from the design, development or sale of aircraft, according to its filings, as it works toward certifying Valo.

Valo is a lightweight electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft designed for regional flight in urban areas, such as airport transfers, carrying four passengers plus a pilot. The company has received 1,500 orders for the aircraft from customers across four continents, including American Airlines and Japan Airlines, with proposed routes in London between Canary Wharf and Heathrow, as well as Gatwick, Cambridge and Oxford.

Vertical said the aircraft could cut a Canary Wharf to Heathrow transfer from 60 to 90 minutes on the ground to around 12 minutes in the air.

The new centre expands Vertical's existing Flight Test Centre at Cotswold Airport, adding 60,000 square feet of operational and aircraft assembly space. It is designed to assemble more than 25 Valo aircraft annually during early production, with a separate full-scale production site, intended for higher-volume manufacturing, to be announced later this year.

"Opening our Aircraft Assembly Centre is an important step in Vertical's transition from prototype developer to aircraft manufacturer, and another milestone delivered as we advance Valo towards certification. This facility gives us the capability we need to assemble our certification aircraft and support initial customer deliveries, while maintaining capital discipline as we prepare for higher-volume production," said Stuart Simpson, chief executive of Vertical Aerospace.

"We are delighted to support Vertical Aerospace as it enters this important new phase. The opening of the Aircraft Assembly Centre strengthens Cotswold Airport's growing role as a hub for aerospace innovation and brings aircraft assembly and flight testing together in one location," said Suzannah Harvey, chief executive of Cotswold Airport.

For the sector, the facility marks one of the first tangible steps toward commercial eVTOL production in the UK as the emerging air taxi category moves closer to certification.

Source: Soglos / Simply Wall St