The CFO View: Emotion and Logic Lured Me to eVTOL Pioneer

EMOTION AND LOGIC were equal drivers behind the decision to convince finance man Federico Nordenstahl to leave the automotive sector and join eVTOL pioneer AutoFlight.

“From the get-go, AutoFlight captivated my interest,” said Nordenstahl, Group CFO and Managing Director Autoflight Europe, in an exclusive interview with Aerospace and Defense Review Europe.

“First of all, the design of the aircraft appealed to me straightaway, and it was no surprise to learn it was done by Frank Stephenson,” he said.

Frank Stephenson is the renowned designer who revolutionized the Mini and the Fiat 500, and created iconic designs for Ferrari, McLaren and Maserati, among many others, before turning his design talents to AutoFlight’s Prosperity and the realm of flying taxis.

“And then, from a financial standpoint, AutoFlight’s streamlined design and robust vertical integration capabilities convinced me of its massive economic potential,” Nordenstahl further explained. “The structured approach adopted by AutoFlight ensures low maintenance costs and unit prices, thus establishing a viable economic model as operators can run routes that otherwise would not be economically feasible. This, coupled with the captivating aircraft design, made the decision both emotional and logical.”

Expressing his optimism about the future of eVTOLs, Nordenstahl emphasized, “I firmly believe that eVTOLs will soon become ubiquitous in our skies, revolutionizing urban air mobility.”

These innovations translate into a sizable market opportunity. Assessing the financial landscape, Nordenstahl projected, "I estimate the urban air mobility market will reach a total value of USD1.5 trillion by 2040.”

These dual emotional and logical considerations prompted Nordenstahl to depart his CFO role with Alphabet, a subsidiary of BMW in Belgium and Luxembourg, and join AutoFlight, a pioneering aviation start-up founded by Tian Yu in Shanghai and supported by Berlin-based holding firm Team Global, established by serial tech entrepreneur Lukasz Gadowski. 

AutoFlight’s strategy is cargo first, then passenger transit, with the initial focus on China and the Middle East. The company’s unmanned cargo version, CarryAll, has recently completed Type Certification testing conducted by the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

“The beauty of having a journey from cargo to passenger is that we not only are quicker to certify the cargo version and go to market, but also learnings can be utilized for the passenger version. Soon after entry into the China market we will begin operation in the Middle East, which is also a region with a strong appetite for innovation, and from there then continue with Europe, North America and other markets,” he said.

In February, AutoFlight showcased the world’s first inter-city eVTOL air-taxi demonstration flight between the southern Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai. AutoFlight’s five-seater Prosperity eVTOL completed the significant milestone by autonomously flying the 50km (31 miles) route across the Pearl River Delta in just 20 minutes, a journey that would require three hours by car. The demonstration flight showcased AutoFlight’s cutting-edge aviation technology in a highly complex environment, bordering multiple international airports and home to approximately 86 million people.

The route between Shenzhen and Zhuhai is part of the future air traffic scenario planned by the regional government as it develops its ‘low-altitude economy’ strategy that will see the opening of thousands of vertiports and hundreds of eVTOL airs routes across the Greater Bay Area in southern China. Low-altitude application scenarios will include passenger transport, tourism, logistics and emergency services. In the short term, plans are in development to achieve 300,000 cargo unmanned aerial vehicle flights in this region per year.

In other major achievements hit over the past year, AutoFlight set the world record for the longest distance flown on a single battery charge (250.3km/155 miles), and carried out the world’s first formation flight of three autonomous eVTOL aircraft.

“Our team has achieved incredible things over the past year and there is more to come in the very near future,” Nordenstahl said. “As you can see, from both an emotional and logical perspective, AutoFlight is truly a game-changing pioneer.”