The fastest electric air-taxi to market is probably a name you’ve never heard before. In 2023, Chinese electric aviation company EHang certified its two-person, autonomously piloted EH216-S in China, paving the way for its use as a low-flying vehicle mainly used for local tourism. Six months after it received certification, it received permission to start wholesale production. Last April, it started doing limited tourism flights in Guangzhou and Hefei. According to a recent report, China plans to have more than 100,000 electric air taxis and cargo drones flying in its “low-altitude economy” by 2030.
For EHang, the two-person aircraft EH-216-S is just the start. The company has announced a partnership with the local Hefei government to launch its VT35, a longer-range, two-person autonomous air taxi based on the prototype VT30.
The new eVTOL marks EHang’s move into the long-range air-taxi segment against competitors such as Archer, Joby, and Vertical Aerospace. Publicly traded Archer and Joby have said that they both expect to have their vehicles certified and in limited commercial use by the end of 2025 in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. China plans to have over 100,000 air taxis flying by 2030.
Ehang’s VT35 is a more powerful version of the VT30 prototype shown above. EHang has signed a deal with the government of Hefei to develop and manufacture the new long-distance air taxi.
EHang
EHang, though based in China, has been international in focus, having demonstrated the EH216-S with test flights that included Prince Pieter Christiaan of the Netherlands, partnerships with local air clubs in São Paulo Brazil, as well as test flights in Japan, Indonesia and at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. In February 2024, EHang announced a suggested retail price for the EH216-S of $410,000 for international markets. It has yet to establish commercial operations outside of China.
The VT35 could be a way to break into those new markets. The company has not released range and speed data for the new aircraft, but the VT30 prototype has a reported range of up to 300 kilometers (186 miles) and flight time of up to 100 minutes. The VT35 will have a range of “several hundred miles,” according to a statement, and will incorporate the company’s proprietary autonomous flight and command-and-control system into its operations. It has separate command-and-control centers for its different locations in China.
The Chinese manufacturer has also begun working on a series of vertiports.
EHang
In February 2025, China’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) accepted EHang’s type certificate (TC) application for the new-generation VT35. The agreement with the Hefei government includes a shared $140.2 million investment for the development of the VT35. The aircraft will be developed and built at a facility in Hefei, with a complete supply chain, including solid-state lithium batteries. The goal for both Ehang and the local government is to expand commercial and intercity passenger transport for the East China region.
EHang was founded in 2014 by Huazhi Hu, its chairman and CEO, and Yifang (Derrick) Xiong, chief marketing officer. The company also specializes in medium-sized multi-rotor drones and small drones for logistics. EHang said it would publicly unveil the VT35 by the end of this year.
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