Bengaluru-based Sarla Aviation to invest Rs 1,300 crore in 500-acre aerospace factory in Andhra Pradesh

Bengaluru-based Sarla Aviation on November 17 announced an investment of Rs 1,300 crore to set up a 500-acre aerospace manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh.

The company said the upcoming complex will be a next-generation integrated Urban Air Mobility (UAM) giga facility that will manufacture electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft and accelerate India’s entry into the era of aerial mobility.

“With an initial investment of Rs 1,300 crore and significant additional investments planned in the future, the project positions India as a global contender in future aviation technologies,” the company said in a statement.

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Once operational, the campus will become India’s first fully integrated ecosystem for eVTOL manufacturing, flight testing, certification, training and maintenance. Built to international aerospace standards, it will have the capacity to produce up to 1,000 aircraft a year, making it one of the largest eVTOL manufacturing hubs globally.

“Globally, only a few regions such as California and Munich are emerging as eVTOL manufacturing hubs. Under the visionary leadership of the Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh is now set to become the next global epicentre of this rapidly advancing industry, and Sarla Aviation is honoured to contribute to this historic transformation,” the statement said.

Rakesh Gaonkar, co-founder and CTO of Sarla Aviation, said, “With the world’s biggest sky factory, we want to make India a nerve centre for the next era of flight. This giga facility will shape the aircraft of the future, create thousands of high-skill jobs, and establish India as a global force in sustainable aerial mobility. Our goal is simple: let India design, build, test, fly and operate the world’s most advanced eVTOL systems from one integrated campus.”

The sky factory will feature advanced manufacturing lines for composites, powertrains, wire harnesses, landing gear systems, flight control computers and embedded systems. It will also include India’s largest wind tunnel, a dedicated two-kilometre runway and purpose-built VTOL testing pads. The campus will house modern R&D labs, simulation environments, pilot training centres and MRO units, enabling the complete lifecycle of eVTOL aircraft to be built and supported within India for the first time.

Designed with sustainability at its core, the facility will integrate renewable energy systems, water-recycling and zero-liquid-discharge mechanisms, along with circular-economy practices for composites and metals. Large green buffers and biodiversity zones are planned to ensure environmentally responsible growth.

Sarla Aviation is working closely with the Government of Andhra Pradesh to co-develop infrastructure for certification, R&D and operational readiness. The collaboration will help establish dedicated UAM corridors and vertiports, laying the foundation for commercial air-taxi services across major South Indian cities by 2029.

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The sky factory is expected to significantly strengthen India’s aerospace value chain by generating high-tech employment, enabling participation from local MSMEs and reducing dependence on imported aviation technologies. By manufacturing critical aircraft components domestically, Sarla Aviation aims to accelerate India’s emergence as a global hub for UAM manufacturing and operations, it said.

Founded in 2023, Sarla Aviation brings together global expertise from leading eVTOL companies such as Lilium, Volocopter and Joby Aviation. Its flagship programme is a six-seater electric flying taxi designed to dramatically reduce commute times in India’s most congested cities-including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi and Pune. Built with safety, affordability and simplicity at its core, the aircraft aims to make air mobility as seamless and accessible as today’s ride-hailing apps for both daily commuters and business travellers.