Hyundai Motor Group’s electric air taxi unit, Supernal, has paused work on its eVTOL program after the departures of CEO Jaiwon Shin and CTO David McBride, a disruption that freezes a still-early flight-test effort and raises fresh questions about the company’s 2028 commercial ambitions. Interim COO David Rottblatt, previously senior director of business development, is overseeing day-to-day operations while Hyundai prepares to appoint new leadership with deeper operational experience.
Leadership shake-up stalls a young flight-test program
The timing is striking. Supernal only recently completed the first flights of a technology demonstrator and had been working toward its initial untethered flight when the program pause hit, according to people familiar with the effort and local media reporting. The Orange County Register first detailed the flight-test stand-down and McBride’s departure, while Hyundai confirmed Shin’s exit in a company statement.
Shin, a former head of NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, was the public face of Supernal’s roadmap, previewing a production-intent aircraft design and ground ecosystem concepts. McBride, who previously led NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, had been stewarding the build-test-learn cadence and told trade press that early flights would validate the team’s ability to construct and evaluate its aircraft architecture ahead of a planned service launch later in the decade.
Pausing a demonstrator program at this stage is unusual but not unprecedented in aviation startups, where test points, supplier readiness, and staffing can force a reset. It will likely prompt a rebaseline of Supernal’s internal milestones—most notably the path to type certification, a safety-critical FAA process that leading U.S. rivals have spent years advancing.
What it means for Hyundai’s advanced air mobility push
Supernal is central to Hyundai’s bet on advanced air mobility (AAM): an electric, short-hop complement to urban ground transport. The Korean automaker has argued that its scale in batteries, manufacturing, and supply chain can de-risk eVTOL industrialization. A leadership reset now complicates that thesis, especially after Hyundai’s separate autonomous-vehicle venture, Motional, underwent a major restructuring and financing shift following a change in partner support.
From an execution standpoint, the immediate questions are practical. Has the demonstrator revealed design or integration issues that require a pause, or is this primarily a governance and resourcing decision tied to leadership turnover? How the company answers will influence supplier confidence and talent retention—two assets startups can’t afford to lose in a capital-intensive sector.
A market under pressure: funding, regulation, and rivals
Supernal’s pause lands in a turbulent market cycle. According to McKinsey’s Aerial Mobility practice, disclosed investment into eVTOL and related AAM ventures since 2020 totals in the low tens of billions of dollars, yet few companies have reached the decisive certification and scale-up phase. The FAA’s Innovate28 blueprint outlines a crawl-walk-run approach to initial operations, but certification requirements and operating rules remain a moving target for powered-lift aircraft.
Rivals are pressing ahead. Joby Aviation holds a Part 135 air carrier certificate, is progressing through FAA type certification with multiple means-of-compliance accepted, and has announced Department of Defense flight activities and airline partnerships. Archer Aviation has reported advancing conformity testing and infrastructure tie-ups with major airports. In China, EHang received approval for a pilotless eVTOL model from local regulators and has begun limited operations, underscoring how regulatory pathways differ by region.
Forecasts remain expansive but uneven. Earlier analyst estimates from firms like Morgan Stanley projected that AAM could exceed a trillion dollars in annual economic activity by the 2040s; more recent industry commentary has grown more conservative on timing, emphasizing the need for reliable aircraft, pragmatic route economics, and integration with ground transport. Against that backdrop, Supernal’s reset illustrates the sector’s central tension: big promises versus the painstaking, incremental work of aviation certification and production.
Key signals to watch
First, leadership clarity. Hyundai says it plans to install executives with deep operating chops; who they are—and whether they come from commercial aerospace, rotorcraft, or automotive manufacturing—will indicate how the company intends to tackle certification and scaling.
Second, the test program’s restart criteria. The pace at which Supernal resumes untethered and envelope-expansion flights will reveal whether the pause was primarily organizational or tied to technical risk. The status of supplier commitments on batteries, flight-control systems, and composite structures will also be telling.
Third, timeline rebaselining. Any revision to the previously cited service-entry target will ripple through airport partners, prospective operators, and city planning efforts. Given the FAA’s current cadence and the complexity of powered-lift certification, a cautious schedule would not surprise seasoned observers.
For Hyundai, the opportunity remains sizable if it can align aviation rigor with automotive-scale production. For Supernal, the immediate task is simpler but urgent: stabilize leadership, restart an evidence-driven flight program, and rebuild credibility in a maturing—yet still unforgiving—eVTOL market.