Marubeni Corporation (hereinafter, “Marubeni”) has confirmed delivery slots for “VX4” aircraft manufactured by Vertical Aerospace Group Ltd. (hereinafter, “Vertical”) and its commitment to make associated pre-delivery payments.

Marubeni placed a conditional pre-order option of up to 200 VX4s in September 2021 and carried out market research together with Vertical for the purpose of commercializing eVTOL aircraft in Japan. Today, Marubeni is making a cash commitment to reserve early delivery slots for the first 25 out of 200 VX4 aircraft conditional pre-orders to launch a commercial passenger service in 2025.

Vertical is developing the VX4 aircraft with top-tier partners from the aviation industry and has successfully raised capital from a wide range of industries, in addition to being listed on the New York Stock Exchange as a SPAC*¹ in December 2021. The company has a market-leading pre-order for more than 1,400 aircraft and has been successfully undertaking piloted flight tests to obtain a type certification*² in 2025.

eVTOL aircraft have been attracting worldwide attention as a next-generation means of transportation. They are expected to provide delivery services for people, including the delivery of goods related to the tourism and medical fields. The range of jobs created using eVTOL aircraft could also be significant from a service and hospitality employment perspective to a construction and architecture perspective. The market forecast shows that 161,000 eVTOL aircraft will be operated in 2050 and that 51% of them will be flown over APAC countries.

Marubeni will utilize its know-how cultivated through its network in the aviation industry and diversified business activities as well as continue to promote the development of the Japanese eVTOL market and encourage public acceptance to create a society where air travel is more accessible and convenient, while simultaneously contributing to climate change mitigation measures, including low-carbon and decarbonization initiatives.

*¹ SPAC: Special Purpose Acquisition Company
*² Type certification: The approval of the design of an aircraft and all of its component parts which testifies that the type of aircraft meets the safety requirements set.

About Vertical:

Company Name	Vertical Aerospace Group Ltd
Business	Development, manufacture, and sales of eVTOL partnering with Honeywell International Inc., Rolls-Royce Holdings plc, E-One Moli Energy Corp., GKN Aerospace Services Limited, Leonardo S.p.A., Solvay, and Microsoft Corporation.
Established	2016
Founder & CEO	Stephen Fitzpatrick
Location	England, United Kingdom
Website	https://vertical-aerospace.com