Eight months after pausing its S-A2 eVTOL aircraft program and two months after cutting 80% of its workforce, Supernal has appointed a new chief technology officer and signed a joint development agreement with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)—two moves in one week that suggest Hyundai Motor Group hasn’t abandoned its eVTOL ambitions after all.
The California-based company’s CEO Jaiwon Shin and former CTO David McBride both departed last August, prompting Supernal to pause development of the S-A2—its planned four-passenger eVTOL aircraft—while it evaluated strategic options. The pause came just months after the company completed inaugural flights of a full-scale technology demonstrator at its Mojave, California, test facility in March 2025, but before it had begun flight-testing a production-representative prototype. In February, the company laid off 296 employees, approximately 80% of its staff. Supernal had previously targeted 2028 for type certification and entry into commercial service.
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