Chennai-based startup ePlane Company is the latest entrant to the global eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) market, with the IIT Madras-incubated firm revealing a prototype earlier this month. The company aims to launch commercial vehicles and offer air-taxi services by 2028.
An eVTOL is different from a typical helicopter or flight, as it operates on battery and can take off vertically before turning into a conventional horizontal flight. This type of aircraft doesn’t require runways as well.
It uses electric propulsion and autonomous technology to support its Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). The technology aims to combine the cruising efficiency of a flight and the hovering capabilities of a helicopter.
The ePlane Company mentioned that it plans to start with air ambulance services, and subject to legal and infrastructure clearances, it will later extend to taxi services.
For air ambulances, the company said that hospitals would provide hubs for the aircrafts. Moreover, the startup looks to generate higher revenue because of emergency services.
The global eVTOL market witnessed an unprecedented compound annual growth rate of 33.8 per cent from 2020 to 2025 and is expected to reach a total valuation of close to $1.4 billion in 2026. Joby Aviation, Archer Aviation, and EHang are a few companies that have entered this market. Even Hitachi Energy is entering the space, in a strategic partnership with Eve Air Mobility.
India is comparatively late to this market, with only e-plane and Sarla Aviation developing electric air mobility.
But the profitability of the business is risky, with only EHang, a Chinese company, achieving a quarterly profit and receiving a passenger-carrying certification. The western counterparts, such as Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation, are years away from achieving profit, having to pour capital into research and development, and FAA aircraft type certification.
After development, research, legal and regulatory costs, the commercialisation of the prototype is expected to be slow.
However, in February 2025, the International Critical Air Transfer Team (ICATT) signed an agreement with the ePlace Company to buy 788 eVTOL air ambulances, which is expected to contribute to their revenue.
