Chinese conglomerate Geely is in advanced talks to take control of Germany’s Volocopter in a deal that would save the flying taxi start-up from potential bankruptcy, according to people familiar with the talks.

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group has discussed taking a majority stake in Volocopter by leading a consortium that will inject fresh capital into the company, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing private matters.

The funding round would be about $95m (€89.6m) in exchange for roughly 85pc ownership, said one of the people. The family office of German industrialist Gerhard Sturm would also participate in the deal, the person said.

If completed, the deal would slash the start-up’s valuation from a peak of $1.9bn in 2022 to about $110m. The Geely group is working through due diligence and aims to finish next month.

Volocopter has also held discussions with other potential bidders. No final decisions on the terms have been made and the deal could still fall apart.

Volocopter’s financial troubles show the fraught effort to make flying cars a reality in the US and Europe, where start-ups often collapse before they’re able to sell a single ride. In China, however, the government has made boosting the “low-altitude” economy a priority, along with an electric vehicle industry that is bombarding Germany’s automakers with competition.

A Geely spokesperson declined to comment. Sturm’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment.

“Due to ongoing financing and contractual obligations, we will not disclose investor names, amounts raised, or any predictions for the future,” a representative for Volocopter said.

With the Geely deal, Volocopter is weighing moving the manufacturing of its future aircraft to China, the people said. Its current, smaller model is being built in Germany.

The Volocopter representative said it considers the German facility a “reference facility” for working out efficient production practices. That will give the company a blueprint for scaling up as it expands overseas, she added.

Formed in 2011, Volocopter was among a raft of start-ups developing electric vertical take-off and landing, or what the industry called EVTOL. It raised $600m from German firms and global investors, including Mercedes-Benz Group, DB Schenker, Blackrock and Neom, Saudi Arabia’s futuristic city project.

The start-up burned through cash and swapped out its chief executive in 2022. Volocopter planned to debut its first commercial aircraft, a two-seater called the VoloCity, at the Olympics this summer in Paris. But it missed the deadline.

Reporting on:independent.ie