EHang double breakthrough: eVTOL factory, first unmanned flight in Europe

Chinese air taxi company EHang has established a new joint venture with JAC Motors to fund construction of a production facility for its eVTOL aircraft following the company’s first unmanned urban eVTOL flight test in Spain – the first such milestone in Europe.

The new joint venture (JV) between EHang, JAC Motors, and Guoxian Holdings will see the construction of a new construction compound in Hefei, the capital of Anhui, China. The JV hopes to integrate the city’s existing production supply chains new aircraft/eVTOL manufacturing technology, promote the standardization of key aircraft components, and establish unified industry standards in the growing air taxi space.

Founded in 1964, JAC Motors has a long history of large-scale vehicle manufacturing in China, and will bring that expertise to the new eVTOL-focused JV.

“As a comprehensive automotive enterprise group integrating the R&D, production, sales, and service of full series commercial and passenger vehicles, and covering a wide range of fields including automotive mobility and financial services, JAC Motors is strategically partnering with EHang and Guoxian Holdings to develop the low-altitude economy,” said Xingchu Xiang, Chairman, and General Manager of JAC Motors. “By leveraging Hefei’s high-quality resources, this collaboration aims to drive the high-quality growth of emerging industries.”

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The company signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Hefei’ municipal government back in October of 2023, which led to the establishment of two eVTOL “vertiports” at Luogang Central Park in Hefei. Those facilities followed the construction of a similar, 5G-connected vertiport in Guangzhou, China in 2022, which, themselves, followed a $150 million funding round.

EHang received a flight license for commercial operation of its unmanned passenger air taxis the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) the following year.

eVTOL completes Spanish test

Over in Europe, EHang reached another major milestone on its path to mainstream success with the completion of the first-ever unmanned eVTOL flight in an urban environment in Benidorm, Spain.

EHang completed the test using one of its EH216-S unmanned eVTOL aircraft. The company also flew 12 additional drones alongside the EH216-S, in a second test designed to highlight the effectiveness of EHang’s coordinated multi-drone operations.

The tests were conducted by Spain’s air navigation provider, Enaire, in accordance European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) regulations.

Electrek’s Take

Forget whatever you’ve heard about solid-state batteries being perpetually two years away. Not only does EHang have prototypes operating with solid-state EV batteries (above), but JAC Motors has a history of advancing battery tech, too. That changes the calculations about the potential success of eVTOL air taxis like the EH216-S, and might mean that widespread adoption of air taxi services might be closer than we all think.

SOURCES | IMAGES: EHang; via YouTube, X.