Archer factory construction complete, line to open in early 2025
December 23, 2024
Archer Aviation has completed the construction of its 400,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Georgia, with ongoing tooling installation to facilitate the start of series production in early 2025. The finalisation of the build is on track with earlier timelines, reaffirmed this August, that promised the facility would be completed within the year.
“I’m incredibly proud of the Archer team and our partners for getting this done so fast and on budget and can’t wait to see our facility begin producing aircraft,” commented Archer founder and CEO Adam Goldstein.
Located at the Covington Municipal Airport in Georgia, US, the high-volume ‘ARC’ manufacturing facility will house Archer’s inaugural production line. With initial output to reach “a rate of two aircraft per month by the end of the year,” the ultimate goal is to scale the facility to 650 annually by 2030.
This ambitious output will achieved in collaboration with automotive giant Stellantis, Archer’s production partner. ARC was built in close partnership with Stellantis, which is also contributing capital, advanced manufacturing technology and expertise, and experienced personnel. “Supporting Archer’s electric aircraft growth with our deep manufacturing expertise is a great opportunity for the two companies,” said Stellantis chief manufacturing and supply chain officer Arnaud Deboeuf.
In January 2023, Stellantis announced it would be manufacturing Archer’s aircraft at the Covington factory, contributing an additional $55 million in investment this August. Stellantis has been a strategic partner of the eVTOL startup since 2021, and also invested an initial $110 million during 2023 through a combination of stock purchases and investments.
Goldstein has previously outlined Archer’s intentions of being “the first in the eVTOL industry to achieve scaled manufacturing,” something no Western company has yet achieved. He has also praised Stellantis’ commitment to Archer as “unrivalled, form its foresight to provide the manufacturing expertise and capital needed to accelerate Archer’s business objectives to the strategic vision and steadfast support from Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares”.
