Urban air mobility company EHang has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group (“JAC Motors”) and Hefei Guoxian Holdings (“Guoxian Holdings”). Under this agreement, cooperation will focus on establishing a joint venture in Hefei to invest in the construction of a state-of-the-art manufacturing base for low-altitude aircraft. The facility will integrate advanced technology, standardisation, and automation to produce intelligent and pilotless electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (“eVTOL”).
The three partners will collaborate for R&D, manufacturing, and sales of this new type of eVTOL aircraft, to accelerate the technological advancements, industrialisation and production capacity growth. The partnership will integrate the new energy vehicle industrial chain in Hefei with aircraft manufacturing technology, promote the standardisation of key aircraft components, establish unified industry standards, and cultivate a comprehensive industrial cluster. This initiative aims to foster the development of the low-altitude economy and a new multi-dimensional transportation ecosystem.
As one of China’s top 100 industrial enterprises, JAC Motors will leverage its expertise in traditional automobile manufacturing, including mature production line processes, advanced manufacturing capabilities, and efficient production capacity and supply chain management, to scale up and automate eVTOL aircraft production.
EHang will contribute its cutting-edge R&D and production technologies in the eVTOL aircraft sector, along its extensive experience in airworthiness certification and operations, providing essential technical support and assurance for low-altitude aviation in the partnership. Guoxian Holdings, a key player in the International Advanced Technology Application Promotion Center (Hefei) that drives breakthroughs, resource integration, and the cultivation of new quality productive forces, will facilitate policy support and create a favorable development environment for the cooperation. The partners will conduct joint research on the automated production technologies and processes of low-altitude aircraft, plan to build an aircraft manufacturing base in Hefei, and optimize product design and production processes by integrating their respective resources, collectively accelerating the commercialization of low-altitude aviation in the future.
EHang is actively collaborating with more local governments and partners in ample preparation for upcoming commercial operations of the low-altitude economy, including infrastructure construction, personnel training, and production capacity expansion. In October 2023, the Hefei municipal government signed a strategic cooperation agreement with EHang, leading to the establishment of two Urban Air Mobility eVTOL operation centers at Luogang Central Park in Hefei. The collaboration with JAC Motors and Guoxian Holdings to build a world-class eVTOL production facility will further meet the growing market demand for pilotless passenger-carrying aircraft and lay the foundation for the large-scale deployment of eVTOLs once the low-altitude economy enters the commercial operation phase.
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