Chinese urban air mobility tech firm to conduct trial flights in Brazil, boosting low-altitude cooperation

2024 CIFTIS attendees from Cologne, Germany take a look at the eVTOL aircraft developed by Chinese urban air mobility technology platform company EHang on September 12, 2024. (Photo: Chu Daye/GT)

EHang Holdings, one of the urban air mobility technology platform companies, announced on Monday that its EH216-S pilotless electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft system has obtained an experimental flight authorization certificate from Brazil's regulator.

It is the latest example of improving bilateral civil aviation cooperation, and a Chinese expert said that such cooperation will also benefit the market and enterprises in the low-altitude economy.

EHang and its local partner and operator Gohobby will conduct comprehensive EH216-S test and trial flight campaigns in Brazil in close collaboration with Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency and Brazil's Airspace Control Department.

These initiatives aim to advance research and development (R&D) of concepts of operations and unmanned aircraft traffic management (UAM) systems and services, ensuring safe and efficient UAM deployments across Brazil.

Brazil is a vast country with a big demand for logistics and personnel transportation, a market that offers huge potential in the field of low-altitude transportation, Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

China's unmanned transportation technology is mainly driven by private enterprises, which conduct R&D based on technical feasibility and economic benefits. China has advantages in this field. Therefore, we have the ability to participate in market competition, and the market also needs Chinese companies to participate in the competition and provide effective solutions, Zhou added.

Brazil and China have signed agreements to strengthen the partnership between the two countries in civil aviation, advancing safety, efficiency, and sustainability in airworthiness certification processes.

In August 2024, the civil regulators of the two countries subscribed to a revised version of airworthiness implementation procedures for the mutual validation of aircraft, facilitating the approval process for civil aviation products as well as their imports and exports between each other.

Both parties agreed upon a roadmap to promote and deepen cooperation in airworthiness certification, aiming to deepen exchanges and cooperation in new technology aircraft certification, airworthiness certification legislation, and airworthiness certification training.

EHang is in close contact with civil aviation authorities around the world.

In an earlier interview, He Tianxing, a vice president of EHang Holdings, told the Global Times that the company has received many eVTOL orders and pre-orders from customers in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and other countries. The main application scenarios include serving as a new mode of aerial manned transportation, providing aerial sightseeing tours, and emergency rescue.