China Grants EHang Certification To Operate Self-Driving Air Taxis

The first autonomous flying taxi will soon operate in Asia. China has reportedly granted EHang, a Guangdong-based company, a "type certificate" to operate the world's first electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) taxi.

China Approves First eVTOL Taxi

The first electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) taxi in the world received a "type certificate" from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on Oct. 13. Additionally, the tiny two-seater, known as the EH216-S, was permitted to fly without a pilot on board.

It took more than 40,000 test flights, including ones with volunteer passengers in 18 cities across China, before EHang received the CAAC's clearance.

EHang, a business based in Guangdong, manufactures the EH216-S. It looks like a consumer drone that has been scaled up and added a passenger bubble. Sixteen tiny rotors installed on the tips of eight folding arms serve as the vehicle's propulsion, allowing it to maneuver through tight areas. There can be two people riding on it.

CAA is equivalent to the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States. The autonomous electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft may already fly passenger-carrying missions in China, according to Ehang, a company with U.S.-listed stock.

Per CEO Huazhi Hu, the certificate will make it much easier for the business to obtain equivalent licenses for conducting business in the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia. Hu said the company plans to expand the business internationally next year. He also noted that those regulators still have to set up a procedure for sharing regulations of the Chinese airworthiness certification, per the CNBC translation of his Mandarin-language statement.

This year, the price of EHang shares nearly doubled before trading was temporarily halted as they expected an announcement about a significant development in its business operations. Trading will resume on Friday.

EHang has a market capitalization of about $1 billion.

More About EHang's Self-Driving Flying Taxi

EHang has already established a facility to mass-produce the aircraft. Before the year's end, the company hopes to start offering tourist flights to Guangdong. There is also interest from other places. The city government of Hefei, in the province of Anhui, said on Oct. 18 that it had reached a $100 million agreement with EHang to use 100 of the machines to offer tourism flights and other services, including deliveries and emergency response. According to the firm, eVTOLs will eventually be able to provide taxi services at rates comparable to those of traditional cabs.

In addition, it tested the EH216-s's ability to maintain flight in the event of a rotor failure and conducted structural analysis and crash tests on it. Inspectors from the regulatory body also looked at the wireless network that EHang employs to connect its flying taxis to a ground-based control center. In the event of a breakdown, backup pilots can remotely land an aircraft.

Due in part to the option to replace an expensive pilot with a second paying passenger, EHang claims that their pilotless eVTOLs will be significantly quieter and less expensive to operate than helicopters, which are their closest relatives. But initially, performance will be constrained. With a top speed of 130kph, the eh216-s has a range of about 30km.

A second model, the vt30, with a range of 300km, is being developed by EHang; however, it will need a different certification.

EHang is not the first company to go autonomous. As part of the American certification program, Wisk Aero, another Californian company, has started testing a pilotless evtol. The company, a division of Boeing, one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the world, will also employ a ground-based control center to oversee flights.