Ehang, hailing from Guangzhou, declared on Friday that it has been granted an "airworthiness type certificate" from the Civil Aviation Administration of China for its entirely automated drone, the EH216-S AAV, that is able to transport two human passengers. Listed on the U.S. stock exchange, the firm claims that this is the first ever certificate of this kind to be awarded. Huazhi Hu, CEO of Ehang, stated in an interview, using a CNBC translation from Mandarin, that this year they intend to expand overseas.
Friday marked a major milestone for Chinese drone company Ehang, as it received a Chinese airworthiness “type certificate” for its fully autonomous EH216-S AAV drone, which can carry two passengers. The milestone is the equivalent of the Federal Aviation Administration in the U.S. issuing its certification. Receiving the certificate means that Ehang can fly their eVTOL aircraft in China and opens the door to obtaining similar certificates for commercial operations in the U.S., Europe, and Southeast Asia. Speaking to CNBC in a video conference interview, Ehang CEO Huazhi Hu announced that the company plans to expand overseas in 2021, pending the completion of processes for mutual regulation of their Chinese airworthiness certification. Shares of Ehang have rocketed this year, leading to the company's current market capitalization of an approximate $1 billion. On Monday, trading was momentarily suspended in anticipation of an announcement concerning a very significant development regarding its business operations. Trading resumed on Friday.
In July, the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposed a plan to facilitate the use of autonomously operated flying vehicles, albeit with a requirement of a pilot on board. Just recently, Joby Aviation – a leading industry player in the U.S. and holder of a U.S. Air Force contract worth up to $131 million –expanded its flight testing program from remote piloting to include an onboard pilot. This was without any indication of passengers being allowed. On the other hand, China has been hard at work to certify autonomous flying vehicles, introducing new guidelines in June that disallow traditional piloted aircrafts and are set to take effect on the first of January 2024.
Ehang's founder and chairman of the board of directors, Hu, stated that the company is still assessing which Chinese city to perform the inaugural passenger air taxi flight in, but would not provide a particular date. China is both the biggest and fastest growing market for these flying vehicles, thus there's an increased demand. As of quarter two, Ehang and Xiyu Tourism formed a joint venture and provided five EH216-S variety. The venture's ambition is to build low-altitude tourism with at least 120 Ehang vehicles within the next five years. Further, Ehang has reported pre-orders totaling over 1,200 units from purchasers such as Japan AirX, Malaysian Aerotree, and Indonesia's Prestige. Hu noted that the business will be delivering these orders over a time frame rather than straight away since the industry is still in its initial stages. Nevertheless, he believes that within five years air taxis will become a common sight in various cities.
On Friday, news of certification was released. In Beijing and other Chinese cities, fully autonomous robotaxis are allowed to traverse public roads, and in a few areas fares are being charged. Hu, CEO of Ehang, noted a key contrast between driverless cars and self-piloting drones: whilst an automobile must turn when crossing an intersection, a drone is airborne the whole journey. Since 2017, Ehang has been trialing independent aerial navigation. A number of issues were reported in the beginning, yet since then, no major mishaps have occurred, even in abroad flights of ten thousands. According to Hu, "our safety record is spotless when bearing humans".
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