Total engineering company, TAIHO Co., Ltd. (Taiho), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Japanese eVTOL manufacturer SkyDrive, and agreed on a pre-order of SkyDrive SD-05 for commercial use.
SkyDrive is currently developing the SD-05 eVTOL aircraft to create a future where everyone has access to air mobility as their daily transportation. The company successfully completed in the first flight test in Japan in 2019, and its SD-05 is in the process of acquiring its Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) certification.
In recent years, Taiho has been actively investing in new fields such as robotics, including the in-house development of automated driving and monitoring robots for the livestock industry.
The Shikoku region, where Taiho is headquartered, faces transportation and regional revitalization challenges. As a leading infrastructure provider in this area, Taiho believes that the electric and compact SD-05 can be a solution to these issues and has signed an MoU.
According to SkyDrive, its committed with Taiho to bring advanced air mobility to Shikoku. The two will work closely with all stakeholders, including flight operators, vertiports and power supply infrastructure providers to make this vision a reality.
