https://www.scmp.com/rss/502016/feed The latest news, analysis and opinion on Ehang. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Ann Cao Ann Cao Chinese aviation start-up AutoFlight, backed by electric vehicle (EV) battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), is emblematic of mainland China’s ambitions in the flying car market, part of the country’s broader push to dominate the low-altitude economy. The Shanghai-based company on Thursday unveiled Matrix, a five-tonne (11,000lbs) class electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, which it described as the largest of its kind in the world after completing a flight... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3342801/autoflight-unveils-worlds-largest-flying-car-china-races-lead-low-altitude-economy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3342801/autoflight-unveils-worlds-largest-flying-car-china-races-lead-low-altitude-economy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Feb 2026 06:30:08 +0000 Daniel Ren Daniel Ren China could see its first flying car begin carrying paying passengers in 2026, as government backing and a growing pipeline of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle makers push the country’s “low-altitude economy” closer to commercial reality. Seven eVTOL manufacturers were expected to start delivering products before the end of this year, according to CCID Consulting. Local governments including Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chongqing are also preparing to loosen rules around... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3340714/chinas-flying-car-makers-target-deliveries-year-passenger-flights-near-reality?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3340714/chinas-flying-car-makers-target-deliveries-year-passenger-flights-near-reality?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jan 2026 23:30:09 +0000 Yujie Xue,Coco Feng,Mandy Zuo Yujie Xue,Coco Feng,Mandy Zuo Drones, unmanned aircraft and flying cars are taking to the sky in China, as the country taps new technology to pare congestion, speed deliveries and create new opportunities for economic growth. Pilotless drones carry food to tourists on the Great Wall of China and help farmers improve yields among other tasks, while unmanned aircraft fly sightseers around major cities and ferry construction materials to remote mountain sites. China’s first flying-car factory has also opened in recent months,... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3335152/flying-cars-take-china-extends-drone-market-domination?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3335152/flying-cars-take-china-extends-drone-market-domination?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Dec 2025 04:50:58 +0000 Alice Li Alice Li A Chinese drone maker has secured 1,600 orders for industrial models at the recently concluded Dubai Airshow – marking the largest ever single-order deal for the country’s manufacturers at the biennial event, as its companies target emerging markets. The deal, secured by Shenzhen-based United Aircraft, covered industrial drones used for low-altitude logistics, medical deliveries and agricultural applications in the United Arab Emirates and other markets, local outlet SZnews.com reported. The... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3333942/chinese-drone-maker-scores-record-1600-orders-dubai-airshow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3333942/chinese-drone-maker-scores-record-1600-orders-dubai-airshow?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Nov 2025 09:01:12 +0000 Daniel Ren Daniel Ren AeroHT, an affiliate of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng, is preparing to enter European airspace as it edges closer to mass production of its flying cars following more than 5,000 orders. The start-up – controlled by Xpeng co-founder and CEO He Xiaopeng – will also conduct its first overseas test flight of its eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) vehicle in Dubai next month. “We are not sure about the recognition or acceptance of products by the customers yet, but I’m happy... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3325030/aeroht-gears-european-flying-car-debut-xpeng-affiliate-clocks-5000-orders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3325030/aeroht-gears-european-flying-car-debut-xpeng-affiliate-clocks-5000-orders?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Sep 2025 09:00:19 +0000 Luna Sun,Yujie Xue,Daniel Ren Luna Sun,Yujie Xue,Daniel Ren Early on in Ridley Scott’s 1982 science fiction film Blade Runner, LAPD officer Gaff (Edward James Olmos) sets down his Spinner flying car to pick up fellow officer Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford). He’s needed to hunt down a group of humanoid robots known as “replicants” who have gone rogue. The film is set in 2019 and when that year came, reality hadn’t caught up. In 2025, it’s getting closer. Humanoid robots can now perform humanlike tasks requiring complex movement, such as walking or carrying... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3316051/chinas-blade-runner-moment-androids-flying-cars-take?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3316051/chinas-blade-runner-moment-androids-flying-cars-take?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Jun 2025 05:15:44 +0000 Yujie Xue Yujie Xue Flying taxis could be used for public transport within the next five years on the mainland, according to a senior executive of Chinese passenger drone maker EHang Holdings. “I believe that by 2030, China will likely have fixed-route air shuttle services,” chief financial officer Conor Yang said in an interview on Tuesday. “It’s also possible that in some cities, with sufficient infrastructure such as take-off and landing points, air taxi services could emerge.” The Nasdaq-listed developer of... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3311216/chinese-drone-maker-ehang-sees-flying-taxis-take-2030-mainland?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3311216/chinese-drone-maker-ehang-sees-flying-taxis-take-2030-mainland?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 May 2025 23:30:08 +0000 Thomas Graham,Zongyuan Zoe Liu Thomas Graham,Zongyuan Zoe Liu The sight of Chinese President Xi Jinping visiting the Kremlin for Russia’s World War II Victory Day parade has rekindled the idea that China might finally pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. But it has been more than three years since Russia invaded its neighbour, and little suggests that China is willing to support good-faith peace negotiations. China has continued to back Russia diplomatically, economically and militarily. The Chinese government avoids... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3309889/how-persuade-china-truly-work-peace-ukraine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3309889/how-persuade-china-truly-work-peace-ukraine?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 May 2025 07:00:17 +0000 At the annual CES consumer electronics show in Las Vegas last month, Chinese company Xpeng AeroHT captured the world’s imagination with the international debut of its Land Aircraft Carrier, featuring a six-wheeled vehicle and a compact aircraft. Critics of China’s centralised governance model claim it stifles innovation and competition, resulting in large-scale innovation but low productivity. Yet in the low-altitude economy, a sector broadly defined as economic activities harnessing airspace... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3298430/how-chinas-low-altitude-economy-can-soar-both-home-and-abroad?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3298430/how-chinas-low-altitude-economy-can-soar-both-home-and-abroad?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Feb 2025 21:30:08 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng China’s southern tech hub of Shenzhen has pledged to invest 12 billion yuan (US$1.7 billion) in infrastructure for the low-altitude economy over the next two years, as the city aims to take a lead in flying taxis and delivery drones. Shenzhen aims to build over 1,200 take-off and landing platforms by 2026, creating a new network to enable air travel, logistics, community delivery and urban governance services, the municipal Development and Reform Commission said on Tuesday, according to a report... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3285411/shenzhen-invest-us17-billion-economy-flying-cars-drones-2026?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3285411/shenzhen-invest-us17-billion-economy-flying-cars-drones-2026?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Nov 2024 09:00:11 +0000 For anyone following China’s economic development and policy updates this year, it is hard to miss the rising buzz around the “low-altitude economy”, a term increasingly touted as a new growth driver for a national economy struggling to find new sources of momentum. As China’s traditional real estate and infrastructure investment-based development model can no longer sustain high-quality economic growth, central and local authorities are turning their sights from the land to the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3275949/whats-buzz-chinas-low-altitude-economy-and-what-propelling-its-development?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3275949/whats-buzz-chinas-low-altitude-economy-and-what-propelling-its-development?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Aug 2024 10:30:15 +0000 Gone are the days when local governments across China could trust in groundbreaking infrastructure and real estate projects to elevate their economies, so now many are turning their gaze upward – looking to the skies for opportunity. Like a swarm of drones whizzing overhead, the buzz surrounding China’s burgeoning “low-altitude economy” has reached new heights this year as authorities have touted it in development plans and policy updates as a means of creating jobs and desperately needed... https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3275663/chinas-low-altitude-economy-spreads-its-wings-struggling-locales-look-skyward?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3275663/chinas-low-altitude-economy-spreads-its-wings-struggling-locales-look-skyward?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Aug 2024 02:00:12 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang Chinese battery giant CATL is investing hundreds of millions of dollars into AutoFlight, a maker of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles, amid rapid development of the domestic low-altitude economy. The Shanghai-based aerial vehicle firm on Saturday announced the new financing from the world’s largest supplier of electric car batteries, but did not disclose the exact amount. The investment makes CATL, based in southeastern Fujian province, a strategic investor in... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3273228/chinese-ev-battery-maker-catl-invests-flying-car-developer-autoflight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3273228/chinese-ev-battery-maker-catl-invests-flying-car-developer-autoflight?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Aug 2024 10:00:19 +0000 Chinese flying taxi maker EHang has moved a step closer to launching commercial service on the mainland after regulator the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) accepted the firm’s application for an air operator certificate. Based in Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong province, EHang said in a statement on Monday that the CAAC has started to review its application for a licence to provide domestic air-transport service. “We are … one step closer to realising our goal of... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3271569/china-moves-closer-launching-flying-taxi-services-ehang-seeks-beijings-go-ahead?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3271569/china-moves-closer-launching-flying-taxi-services-ehang-seeks-beijings-go-ahead?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Jul 2024 10:00:29 +0000 A flying car made by AeroHT, an affiliate of Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng, took off at Beijing Daxing International Airport on Sunday for its maiden flight in the capital city, as the firm moves closer to commercialising its aircraft amid growing policy support for the so-called low-altitude economy. The X2 was demonstrated during the China Langfang International Economic and Trade Fair, which kicked off on the same day and runs through Thursday. AeroHT, controlled by Xpeng co-founder... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3266814/ev-maker-xpengs-flying-car-takes-first-flight-beijing-step-towards-commercialisation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3266814/ev-maker-xpengs-flying-car-takes-first-flight-beijing-step-towards-commercialisation?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Jun 2024 11:02:50 +0000 Chinese flying taxi maker EHang completed the first autonomous passenger-carrying flight in the Middle East, the company said on Monday, as it moves to expand in the region. The EH216-S, EHang’s flagship pilotless electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle (eVTOL), took off in Abu Dhabi, according to the company, which is trying to capitalise on a burgeoning “low-altitude” economy, a range of industries related to aerial vehicles operating below an altitude of 1,000 metres. EHang has plans... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3261737/chinese-air-taxi-maker-ehang-completes-maiden-flight-abu-dhabi-it-eyes-expansion-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3261737/chinese-air-taxi-maker-ehang-completes-maiden-flight-abu-dhabi-it-eyes-expansion-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 May 2024 12:30:25 +0000 Chinese flying taxi maker EHang is selling its EH216-S electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle on Alibaba Group Holding’s Taobao marketplace, weeks before the Nasdaq-listed company makes the autonomous passenger-carrying aircraft available in overseas markets. Based in Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong province, EHang has put its EH216-S for sale at a unit price of 2.39 million yuan (US$332,000) on e-commerce giant Alibaba’s primary domestic retail platform. Alibaba owns... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3255974/chinese-flying-taxi-maker-ehang-sells-autonomous-passenger-drone-us332000-taobao-nations-low?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3255974/chinese-flying-taxi-maker-ehang-sells-autonomous-passenger-drone-us332000-taobao-nations-low?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Mar 2024 12:00:25 +0000 Guangzhou-based Ehang, known for its ambitions to make flying taxis a reality, has obtained what it says is the world’s first commercial licence to test using passenger-grade drones to transport heavy goods of more than 150kg. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has approved tests of Ehang’s 216 flying car for air logistics, making it the world’s first autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) company a national aviation authority has approved for commercial trials of drone deliveries... https://www.scmp.com/tech/passenger-drone-company-ehang-gets-commercial-license-china/article/3086676?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/passenger-drone-company-ehang-gets-commercial-license-china/article/3086676?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 May 2020 10:07:26 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Would you trust your life to an autonomous flying taxi? EHang’s huge passenger drone, which Abacus tested last year, had its first test flight in the US on Tuesday, but without anyone onboard. EHang is one of many companies competing to put flying taxis in the sky, including Airbus, Uber and  Tencent-backed Lilium. EHang already received a licence to operate mobility services in Guangzhou and expects to start operating a line of commercial flying cars... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/news-bites/article/3045340/chinas-flying-taxi-completes-first-test-flight-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/news-bites/article/3045340/chinas-flying-taxi-completes-first-test-flight-us?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Jan 2020 07:02:15 +0000 Would you trust your life to an autonomous flying taxi? EHang’s huge passenger drone, which Abacus tested last year, had its first test flight in the US on Tuesday, but without anyone onboard. EHang is one of many companies competing to put flying taxis in the sky, including Airbus, Uber and  Tencent-backed Lilium. EHang already received a licence to operate mobility services in Guangzhou and expects to start operating a line of commercial flying cars soon, company co-founder Derric Xiong told... https://www.scmp.com/china-tech-city/chinas-flying-taxi-completes-first-test-flight-us/article/3045303?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china-tech-city/chinas-flying-taxi-completes-first-test-flight-us/article/3045303?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Jan 2020 07:02:14 +0000 EHang, one of China’s largest drone makers, has made a confidential application for an initial public offering (IPO) with Nasdaq, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The Guangzhou-based company plans to float 10 per cent to 15 per cent of its shares, with the company’s valuation not yet set because of volatile market conditions, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are not public. The firm may raise as much as US$200 million in the IPO, one of... https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/3030521/chinese-drone-maker-ehang-said-file-ipo-nasdaq?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/3030521/chinese-drone-maker-ehang-said-file-ipo-nasdaq?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Sep 2019 10:23:33 +0000 Commuters in China may soon be riding in autonomous flying taxis, soaring over busy streets and skyscrapers at the push of a button, thanks to Guangzhou-based EHang, which describes itself as the world's first maker of passenger-grade, electric autonomous aerial vehicles. Flying taxis have been talked about for years in China and now the buzz over EHang’s passenger drones is rising after the start-up said “commercial flights are on the horizon”. “We expect to operate a line of commercial flying... https://www.scmp.com/digital-life/ehangs-flying-taxis-still-face-safety-concerns-and-regulatory-hurdles/article/3025501?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/digital-life/ehangs-flying-taxis-still-face-safety-concerns-and-regulatory-hurdles/article/3025501?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Sep 2019 11:43:48 +0000