Stellantis Invest An Additional $55 Million Into Archer Aviation

Stellantis and Archer Aviation Inc., a leader in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, have announced an additional $55 million investment from Stellantis. This comes under the companies’ strategic funding agreement, following Archer’s recent transition flight test milestone achievement.

This latest investment builds on Stellantis’ previous purchase of 8.3 million shares of Archer’s stock in March. Throughout 2023, Stellantis has invested $110 million in Archer through a combination of stock purchases and investments under their strategic funding agreement.

Archer remains on track to complete the construction of its high-volume manufacturing facility in Georgia later this year. The first phase of the build-out includes a 350,000-square-foot facility on a 100-acre site. This facility is designed to support the production of up to 650 aircraft annually, potentially making it one of the largest manufacturing facilities by volume in the aircraft industry. Archer aims to leverage Stellantis’ expertise as its contract manufacturer to support its planned commercial ramp-up.

Carlos Tavares, Stellantis CEO, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership: “Few things rival the excitement of seeing a dream take flight. I applaud the innovation, expertise, and hard work of the engineering and manufacturing teams from Stellantis and Archer. With this additional investment in Archer, we remain on course for a future where freedom of mobility extends beyond today’s roads.”

Archer CEO Adam Goldstein highlighted the importance of Stellantis’ support: “The commitment by Stellantis to Archer has been unrivaled, from its foresight to provide the manufacturing expertise and capital needed to accelerate Archer’s business objectives, to the strategic vision and steadfast support from Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. Together, we’re working to redefine urban transportation, opening new worlds of opportunity for citizens across the globe by providing more efficient access to people, places, and events across the regions they live in.”

Stellantis has been a strategic partner to Archer since 2020 through various collaboration initiatives and as an investor since 2021. Archer has leveraged Stellantis’ manufacturing, supply chain, and design expertise in its efforts to design, develop, and commercialize its eVTOL aircraft.

Archer’s goal is to transform urban travel by replacing 60-90-minute car commutes with estimated 10-20-minute electric air taxi flights that are safe, sustainable, low-noise, and cost-competitive with ground transportation. Archer’s Midnight is a piloted, four-passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights.

This investment news comes at a controversial time, as Stellantis continues to downsize its North American automotive operations. Carlos Tavares has repeatedly stated that he views Stellantis as not an automaker but a mobility company. Stellantis has been clear about its intention to cut an additional $200 million from its North American operations, with more layoffs rumored to be coming later this month.