SkyDrive Receives Pre-order for SD-05 eVTOL Aircraft
from TAIHO Co.,Ltd. in Shikoku Region, Japan
TOYOTA CITY, JAPAN, April 18, 2023 – SkyDrive Inc. (“SkyDrive”), a leading electric vertical takeoff & landing (eVTOL1) aircraft manufacturer based in Japan, today announced that TAIHO Co.,Ltd. (“Taiho”), a total engineering company, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and agreed on a pre-order of SkyDrive SD-05 for commercial use. Taiho is a member of newly established Public-Private Council2 for Advanced Air Mobility in Kagawa prefecture in Shikoku region.
From the left, Mr. Kazuyuki Inui (President and CEO of Taiho) and Tomohiro Fukuzawa (CEO of SkyDrive)
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) certification3.
Taiho sells and maintains control or measurement equipment and performs electrical, communications, and civil engineering works for customers in various industries, including electric power, chemicals, oil refining, nuclear power generation, and paper manufacturing. In recent years, the company 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.
SkyDrive and Taiho are committed to bringing 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.
SkyDrive receives pre-order for SD-05 aircraft in Japan
Japanese eVTOL aircraft manufacturer, SkyDrive Inc., has received a pre-order for their SD-05 aircraft from engineering company TAIHO Co.,Ltd. The agreement was made as part of the Public-Private Council for Advanced Air Mobility in the Shikoku region. SkyDrive is focused on developing the SD-05 to provide accessible air mobility for daily transportation, with plans to obtain JCAB certification. Taiho, known for their work in various industries including robotics, sees the electric and compact SD-05 as a solution to transportation challenges in the Shikoku region. Both companies are committed to working with stakeholders to achieve this goal.
