Florida-based Eve Air Mobility, a manufacturer of Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing vehicles (eVTOLs), has confirmed that it remains on track for accreditation by Brazil’s civil aviation authority (ANAC) in 2026, and entry into service the same year.

The company’s CEO, Johann Bordais, told airportIR that the inaugural flights—which will happen around a year after some other players according to the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA)—are expected to be in Brazil and the United States. He would not be drawn on the exact locations, saying that it would be up to individual eVTOL operators to announce their first official flights.

Activity at ANAC is being aligned with the FAA, and EASA in Europe, particularly on safety and reliability.

São Paulo, Brazil’s biggest city with a population of over 22 million, is an obvious candidate because of the large number of existing helicopter business flights taken. Eve estimates that the potential there for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is a total of 245 eVTOLs, using 37 vertiports across more than 100 routes. Annual revenue could be around US$220 million.

A bigger market is Los Angeles in the U.S. with scope for 390 eVTOLs operating over 150 routes from 38 vertiports, where revenue is estimated at US$350 million per year. 

Eve is a start-up, founded in 2020 and floated in the NYSE in May 2022. It is backed by Brazilian airplane maker, Embraer, in whose innovation division, the eVTOL company has its roots. Embraer has more than 50 years of aerospace expertise which Eve is keen to highlight.

Thanks to the know-how and engineering competence of Embraer, Eve is in a good position to offer a comprehensive global support network for its products. It is also developing an agnostic air traffic management solution for the UAM ecosystem called Vector.

A Rounded-out Offer

In the eVTOL race, being first will not matter according to Bordais, who added: “We want to make sure we deliver a safe product that is also right for the operator. It’s about safety and certification, and also service and support.” He said: “We’re talking about 14 flights a day, and that's intense. It means using reliable vehicles, otherwise they’ll be sitting on the ground. With Eve, we’re offering not only the vehicles but a service and support solution.”

The CEO claims to have “the biggest pre-order book in the industry” roughly twice that of the second-placed player. The challenge will be to convert them into firm orders.

Eve has tied up a series of supply and end-user partners, some of the latest being KAI (Korea Aerospace Industries) for eVTOL’s pylons, and Aciturri, Crouzet, and FACC to supply wings, pilot control, and horizontal/vertical tails.

The company also has agreements with several vertiport players including Spain’s Ferrovial and the UK’s Skyport in order to have all its ducks in a row. Eve has gone to first-mile and last-mile operators like helicopter players and leasing companies with its vehicles and support programs.

“Customers understand it’s about safety and reliability and that’s why pre-orders stand at US$14.5 billion,” emphasized Bordais.

Despite that, Eve’s share price (EVEX on the NYSE) has been on a downward slide since listing. Having launched at over US$10 in May 2022, the stock closed on Tuesday at US$4.20. Investors are generally cautious in the eVTOL space because it is crowded and failures are inevitable.

In Eve’s specific case, its Q1 2024 debt has ballooned to US$40 million while liquidity has declined (year-over-year), although, for a startup, this is not necessarily unusual.

Ready to Manufacture

With Embraer’s backing, Eve does not intend to be another eVTOL casualty and is playing a long game. A brownfield manufacturing facility is being prepared in Taubaté about 15km from São José dos Campos, Embraer’s main engineering and manufacturing base, just over 100km east of São Paulo.

About 120 aircraft delivered annually is the break-even target. So the site is ready, but “we’ll turn the key whenever the investment makes sense—and that all depends on certifications,” noted Bordais. Right now one-third-scale prototypes are being tested with full-size units in the works.

He added: “Our mission is to scale up the low-altitude business and democratize access, but it's going to be a journey. There will be air taxis all over—eventually.” At launch, Eve plans to fly helicopter routes—possibly replacing them on sightseeing trips and business short hops.

Initially, Eve’s eVTOLs will use existing traffic management systems, but when hundreds of vehicles take to the air, it is hoped Vector will come into its own. The product was presented at Airspace World in Geneva this year with a focus on fleet/vertiport operators and Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs).

While autonomous flying taxis have hit the headlines—with China’s ExPeng Aero HT recently testing a prototype in public—Eve is not planning on such an offer just yet. “If you want to enter the eVTOL space early, it won’t be with an autonomous unit,” said Bordais.

Regulators are keenly aware of the safety issues, not helped by Tesla’s autonomous issues in the automotive world. Pilotless eVTOLs are likely to face many more regulatory hurdles despite being relatively intuitive on the flight control side.