EHang in “Final Sprint” to Achieve Type Certification for EH216 eVTOL

EHang announced it is entering the final stages in obtaining type certification for its two-seater EH216 eVTOL.

Seeking the nod of approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the company’s senior executives, while unveiling the financial results for the 2022 financial year, confirmed that 90% of the work has been completed and over 70% of the remaining tests have either been conducted or are in progress.

The Guangzhou-based firm still needs to finish compliance and laboratory testing, along with ground tests and inspections, data analysis, and further test flights. Once all this is done, reports will be prepared and subsequently reviewed by the CAAC.

So far, EHang has conducted over 34,000 test flights with its EH216 in 12 countries. Orders have been mounting for the company’s eVTOLs as more than 100 aircraft need to be delivered to domestic customers once type certification is issued by the CAAC.

Outlining its commercial strategy, the company will launch operations in Guangxi, Hunan, Anhui, Shandong, Jiangxi, Xinjiang, and Guangdong provinces, with Xiyu Tourism and Xi’an Aerospace Investment Co being among the initial customers.

In the 2022 financial year, EHang’s reported revenue was RMB44.3 million (USD$6.4 million), which marked a 22% decline from the RMB56.8 million it announced in 2021. Overall, the operating losses increased by 3.8% last year, reaching RMB207.1 million.

Despite this, EHang founder, chairman, and CEO Huazhi Hu remains optimistic about the company’s performance this year.

“In 2023, we are getting well positioned to leverage China’s tourism and economic recovery, growing market demands, and our imminent inflection point into commercialization with keen anticipation for obtaining the world’s first autonomous eVTOL type certificate to unlock an exciting new era for the UAM (urban air mobility) industry that EHang is leading,” he said.

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