Marubeni : British company inks electric aircraft deal worth up to $800m
September 22, 2021 at 03:21 pm EDT
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A British manufacturer, leading the transition to carbon free aviation, has inked a deal to introduce its flagship electric aircraft to the Japanese market.
Bristol based Vertical Aerospace has agreed a partnership with Marubeni Corporation, a leading Japanese trading and investment conglomerate to explore sustainable, emissions free aircraft.
City A.M. understands the deal could be worth as much as $800m and will bring Vertical’s signature electric aircraft, the VA-X4, to Japanese buyers with a pre-order option of up to 200 planes.
Stephen Fitzpatrick, Founder and CEO of Vertical said, “Marubeni is one of the most respected companies in Japan, and we are proud to be partnering with them as we look at ways to bring our VA-X4 to the Japanese market.
“This is the most exciting time in aviation for almost a century; electrification will transform flying in the 21st century in the same way the jet engine did 70 years ago and with Marubeni we are confident we have a great partner who can be a part of this transformation,” Fitzpatrick added.
The deal builds on existing commercial partnerships between Vertical and American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Avolon, Iberojet and Bristow who with Marubeni have already collectively agreed conditional pre-orders for 1350 aircraft in total with a value of approximately $5.4bn.
Read more: Aviation bosses warn UK sector is falling behind European competitors due to hotel quarantine rules
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Marubeni Corporation is a diversified group organized primarily around 12 business segments:
- sale of agricultural products and related services (47% of net sales): sale of agricultural inputs (crop protection products, fertilizers, seeds, etc.), precision farming services, formulation of crop protection products, export of cereals and oilseeds, etc.;
- sale of food products (17.6%);
- production and distribution of oil, gas, alternative energy and electricity (10.4%);
- production of chemicals and petrochemicals (6.4%);
- production of metals and mineral resources (4.9%);
- sale and financing of industrial and construction machinery and equipment (4.6%). The group also develops car sales and tire distribution activities;
- sales of consumer electronics (4.3%). In addition, the group develops real estate development and management activities;
- sale of forest products (2.3%): wood chips and biomass fuel, pulp and waste paper, paper, paperboard, hygiene products, building & construction materials and wood products;
- sale of apparel, accessories, textile and lifestyle products (1.1%);
- management and operation of aircraft and ships (1%);
- development of energy production units and industrial installations (0.3%);
- finance and leasing (0.1%): auto finance, aircraft leasing, aircraft engine leasing, leasing and renting of refrigerated trailers, commercial vehicles and commercial freight railcars, etc.
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: Japan (37.2%), the United States (42.5%)
MARUBENI CORPORATION 
