Chinese firm obtains country's 1st passenger drone production certificate

Visitors check out an autonomous aerial vehicle from EHang during the 2023 China Brand Expo in Shanghai on May 10. [Photo/Xinhua]

GUANGZHOU - Chinese drone maker EHang Holdings Limited obtained on Sunday the production certificate for the EH216-S passenger-carrying autonomous aerial vehicle system from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province.

It is the first production certificate issued in China for an autonomous passenger drone, and also the first one in the global electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) industry. Previously, the EH216-S had obtained the type certificate and standard airworthiness certificate from the CAAC.

Hu Huazhi, founder, chairman and CEO of EHang, said that obtaining the production certificate is an important milestone for the EH216-S to enter the mass production stage, as well as a necessary step for Ehang to advance commercial operations.

According to statistics from the CAAC, the size of China's low-altitude economy exceeded 500 billion yuan ($70.47 billion) in 2023 and is expected to reach 2 trillion yuan by 2030.

The EH216-S has a maximum design speed of 130 km per hour, a maximum range of 30 km, and a maximum flight time of 25 minutes. EHang delivered a total of 52 EH216-S aircraft in 2023.