News

NEOM And Volocopter Partner To Create World’s First Bespoke Public eVTOL Mobility System

These first eVTOL aircraft will connect NEOM’s core urban development, called the Line, with other regional destinations.

Published

4 years ago

December 10, 2021

David Morelo

Volocopter

The concept of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft should be familiar to all fans of sci-fi literature, movies, and video games.

Because of their ability to take off and land vertically, such aircraft are suited for operation in densely populated urban areas that would easily trap even small airplanes. Since eVTOL aircraft rely on electric propulsion, they generate much less noise pollution compared with traditional helicopters.

Now, Volocopter, a German eVTOL aircraft manufacturer based in Bruchsal has established a joint venture (JV) company with NEOM, a planned smart city in the Tabuk Province of northwestern Saudi Arabia that aims to realize a daring vision of what the future could be.

neom partnership with volocopter

The goal of the new company is to design, implement, and operate the world’s first bespoke public vertical mobility system in NEOM. Once operational, the system will provide air taxi and logistics services and integrate with the rest of NEOM’s multi-modal and zero-emissions public mobility system.

“We are incredibly excited and proud to partner with Volocopter to make vertical mobility a reality here at NEOM. Volocopter is internationally recognized for leading innovation in the eVTOL industry and is a perfect match for our ambitious goals to create the first truly sustainable, shared, and seamlessly integrated mobility system in the world” said Florian Lennert, Head of Mobility, NEOM.

The JV has so far ordered 10 VoloCity passenger and 5 VoloDrone logistics aircraft from Volocopter, and plans are already in place to scale up activities from the beginning of 2022.

These first eVTOL aircraft will connect NEOM’s core urban development, called the Line, with other regional destinations. The Line is supposed to be a 170 km long linear city without conventional cars, and it will be home to over 1 million citizens when finished.

News

Noon And Yango Switch On Robot Deliveries In Dubai

The rollout folds autonomous couriers into noon’s rapid-delivery network as the UAE tests everyday autonomy.

Published

3 days ago

December 10, 2025

Nour Nasir

noon and yango switch on robot deliveries in dubai

Noon and Yango Group have signed an agreement to put autonomous robot deliveries into commercial use in Dubai, turning Yango’s earlier pilots into a daily service for noon Minutes orders. The launch in Sobha Hartland is the first full integration of Yango Autonomy’s electric robots with a major e-commerce network in the region, with wider deployment planned across Dubai and, later, other GCC markets.

Residents can choose a robot at checkout, track it in the app and unlock its compartment once it arrives. The hardware runs on Yango’s AI navigation and routing stack, which plans paths, avoids obstacles and yields to pedestrians. The units had already covered more than 1,500 kilometers during previous Dubai pilots, a test bed that demonstrated their ability to operate in mixed pedestrian environments and dense residential streets.

The rollout adds a contactless option to noon’s last-mile network and is positioned as extra capacity during peak periods. “Partnering with Yango Group lets us bring a future-ready delivery option straight to our customers,” said Ali Kafil-Hussain, noon’s Chief Business Officer. Noon has used Minutes to set rapid-delivery expectations in UAE cities; autonomous units now slot into that same high-frequency model.

Regulatory clearance from Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority underpins the move. The RTA authorized Yango’s robots to operate on public walkways and in neighborhoods, smoothing the shift from controlled trials to commercial work. Dubai has framed autonomous mobility as part of its smart-city buildout, and the partners lean on that agenda to accelerate integration.

Also Read: Uber And WeRide Roll Out Driverless Robotaxis In Abu Dhabi

For Yango, the partnership is an anchor for its autonomy platform in the Gulf. Islam Abdul Karim, Yango’s Middle East regional head, said the aim is to make autonomous delivery an “everyday, reliable service” for UAE communities. The company views operational data from early districts as the basis for scaling into more communities and, eventually, cross-border rollouts.

The move lands as Gulf retailers search for faster fulfilment and lower-emission logistics. Autonomous couriers remain a small share of last-mile delivery, but Dubai’s approvals and early usage data give the partners a clearer path to turn pilots into durable infrastructure.