US air taxi start-up Eve Air Mobility has identified the planned launch customer for its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and secured its first “binding framework agreement” with the company.
Eve disclosed the deal with Sao Paulo-based helicopter operator Revo on 15 June, the eve of the Paris air show in Le Bourget.
The $250 million contract calls for Eve to deliver up to 50 of its yet-to-be-certificated eVTOL aircraft to Revo. An estimated timeframe for deliveries was not provided by the companies, though Eve has previously stated that it plans to launch commercial activity shortly after clearing certification in 2027.
The Florida-headquartered start-up is revealing at this year’s show a full-sized mock-up of its electric air taxi.
Eve ”has signed its first binding framework agreement with Revo… and its parent company, Helicopters International,” Eve says. “The contract includes the purchase of up to 50 electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, associated entry into service and aftermarket services.”
The air taxi developer says the deal includes downpayments from Revo, but Eve does not immediately provide more information.
The signing marks a significant milestone for Eve, which has long boasted the largest tentative orderbook in the nascent electric air taxi sector. Eve holds thousands of letters of intent valued at about $14 billion but had not previously secured firm orders backed by financial commitments.
Embraer-backed Eve says the Revo deal marks a transition “from development to execution”, with chief commercial officer Megha Bhatia adding that Sao Paulo’s existing helicopter market makes the Brazilian city a “natural launch pad for eVTOL operations”.
“We are so pleased to announce our first binding order with Revo, an established advanced urban air mobility operator now poised to be the launch eVTOL customer in Sao Paulo,” she says.
Revo parent OHI, also known as Omni Helicopters, operates a fleet of more than 90 rotorcraft across Latin America.
Joao Welsh, Revo’s chief executive, says his company had placed a tentative order for Eve’s aircraft about five years ago.
“We started asking the fundamental questions: How will we train pilots? How will we train mechanics? How will we maintain these aircraft and make sure they’re flying? How will we test them to ensure safety? How will we get customers to trust this new technology?
“That’s what we’ve been working on as a team together for the last five years,” Welsh says. “Today, we have… answers for all those questions.”
Eve is nearing full assembly of a remotely piloted prototype, with a planned flight-test campaign due to launch later this year. It is also working in parallel to build five-to-six production-conforming prototypes that will be used in for-certification test flying.
The start-up is engaged with ANAC, Brazil’s civil aviation regulator, as well as the US Federal Aviation Administration.
Eve expects 30,000 eVTOL aircraft could be flying passengers by 2045, according to a forecast it released on 15 June.
