EVTOL aircraft cleared for production as sector takes off
China has issued its first production licence for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, further solidifying its position in the global race to broaden commercial applications and win market share in the up-andcoming tech-driven sector.
The EH216-S, an unmanned eVTOL aircraft capable of transporting passengers, received a production certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on Sunday, according to a social media post from the aircraft’s manufacturer EHang.
The aircraft obtained its type and standard airworthiness certificates – both required for commercial operations – from the CAAC last year.
“The production certificate is an important milestone for the EH216-S to step into the largescale production stage and a key step for EHang to advance its commercial operations,” said Hu Huazhi, founder and chairman of the firm in Guangzhou, which has claimed each certification as the world’s first for eVTOL aircraft.
The licensure marks a breakthrough in China’s efforts to bolster what it calls the “low-altitude economy”, a wide range of industries related to manned and unmanned vehicles operating below an altitude of 1,000 metres.
Listed as a strategic emerging industry at the tone-setting central economic work conference in December, the sector has seen heavy investment and policy support from Beijing – in similar fashion to its now-thriving electric vehicle sector, which is conquering the global market.
The sector grew by 33.8 per cent year on year in 2023 to 506 billion yuan (HK$548 billion) and is expected to surpass 1 trillion yuan by 2026, according to a report released by a research institute under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology earlier this month.
In particular, the scale of China’s eVTOL industry reached 980 million yuan in 2023 – a yearon-year increase of 77.3 per cent – and is projected to reach 9.5 billion yuan in value by 2026.
Cities across the country have rolled out supportive measures to unlock the potential of their local low-altitude economies, with over 20 provinces dedicating space to the sector in work reports delivered to their legislatures.
A guideline for the general aviation industry released last month showed Beijing aimed to jump-start equipment supply and innovation by 2027, turning aviation into a trillion-yuan market and driving force for low-altitude economic growth by 2030.
“China’s support system for low-altitude flights has basically taken shape,” CAAC head Song Zhiyong said yesterday, adding this “laid a foundation” for the growth of the low-altitude economy. Song said China could achieve “full coverage of supervision and service for low-altitude flights”, with 449 general airports, a national information management system, seven regional information systems and 32 flight service stations established by the end of last year.
But that support system faced challenges, he said, in “infrastructure layout planning, regulatory system construction and the integrated operation of manned and unmanned aircraft”.