With electric vehicles now a reality on our roads, the next logical step is to abandon the asphalt entirely and take to the skies.

A company one step closer to realising that step is Volocopter which has just closed its Series C round of funding raising its total capital to €85 million.

The lead investor in Series C was Zhejiang Geely Holding Group which, as you might infer from the name, is the manufacturer of Geely vehicles.

This makes Geely a minority investor alongside another vehicle maker, Daimler which is a strategic investors. The two Volocopter founders, Stephan Wolf and Alexander Zosel jointly remain the largest shareholders.

With this funding, Volocopter reckons that a commercial launch of its VoloCity aircraft is just three years away.

Speaking about the investment, Geely Holding’s chairman, Li Shufu had this to say.

“Geely is transitioning from being an automotive manufacturer to a mobility technology group, investing in and developing a wide range of next-generation technologies. Our latest cooperation with Daimler, building on our partnership in smart and premium ride-hailing services, as well as our joint venture with Volocopter underlines our confidence in Volocopter air taxis as the next ambitious step in our wider expansion in both electrification and new mobility services.”

The second round of Series C investment is expected to close at the end of 2019 and Volocopter is currently in talks with strategic and financial investors. Those funds have already been earmarked for commercial certification by the European Aviation Safety Authority.

“Urban mobility needs to evolve in the next few years to meet rising demand. With our Volocopter air taxis, we are adding a whole new level of mobility in the skies,” says chief executive officer at Volocopter, Florian Reuter.

“Urban mobility needs to evolve in the next few years to meet rising demand. With our Volocopter air taxis, we are adding a whole new level of mobility in the skies,” the CEO concluded.