EHang and the low-altitude economy

China has big plans for its low-altitude economy. Tara Craig looks at how eVTOL developer EHang is helping drive it.

Covering close to 170,000m², Luohu Sports and Leisure Park in Shenzhen has everything you would expect of a facility of its size and nature: sports pitches, bicycle parking spaces, lawns, ecological grasslands – and even a 2km-long cherry blossom avenue. However, January 2025 saw it add something altogether more unexpected to its long list of attractions – a vertiport.

The industry player behind this futuristic development is Guangzhou-headquartered EHang Holdings.

The first of its kind

The new building, known as the Exhibition (Experience) Center, is the world’s first EH216-S (EHang eVTOL) take-off and landing site, and features a fully-automated vertical lift vertiport.

According to EHang, it is an example of smart infrastructure dedicated to the commercial operations of the EH216-S, ‘establishing a groundbreaking model for electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft operations in urban areas’.

Designed by Ehang, the 753m² facility, also known as the Luohu UAM (urban air mobility) Center, boasts an automated three-dimensional vertical lift vertiport. This reduces labour costs and optimises space usage through its automated operations, the developer said.

The first floor is dedicated to a hangar and boarding area, designed to provide passengers with a seamless and comfortable experience. The integrated take-off and landing pad within the hangar enables rapid charging, streamlining flight operations.

During the launch ceremony on January 21, the vertical lift platform moved an EH216-S aircraft from the first to the second floor of the vertiport. The eVTOL then took to the skies, completing a lap over Luohu Sports and Leisure Park before landing smoothly, marking its first flight at the Luohu UAM Center.

Part of a bigger plan

Luohu is a bustling Shenzhen district known for skyscrapers and huge shopping malls, the latter packed with a heady mixture of local fashion and high-end international brands. Its administration is looking to the future, with its heart very much set on a transport infrastructure that will tick the sustainability boxes at the same time as removing traffic from its congested roads.

The Luohu District Low-Altitude Infrastructure High-Quality Construction Plan (2024-2026) outlines a comprehensive approach to developing low-altitude take-off and landing infrastructure across the district. The plan aims to build 100 take-off and landing sites by 2026, including 32 take-off and landing facilities for passenger-carrying aircraft.

The low-altitude economy is a strategic focus for Luohu District. The administration is working to develop this emerging economy, including undertaking top-level planning, policy support, infrastructure development, demonstration of application scenarios, market player cultivation and talent training. The district has already established 15 vertiports for passenger-carrying aircraft, and aims to build a robust industry ecosystem for the low-altitude economy.

As Luohu District’s first smart UAM operation centre, EHang’s vertiport is expected to provide a solid foundation for the commercial operations of the district’s low-altitude economy, and to operate as a new focus for cultural and tourism initiatives.

The Luohu UAM Center is located near several popular visitor attractions, among them Wutong Mountain, the highest peak in Shenzhen, and Donghu Reservoir, both popular with visitors looking for more active holidays. According to EHang, this makes it an ideal location for developing low-altitude sightseeing tourism. Through the Luohu UAM Center, EHang will further deepen its strategic co-operation with the Luohu District Bureau of Culture, Broadcasting, Tourism and Sports, which began in 2024.

Farther afield

EHang aims to meet diverse use cases, from aerial transportation, cultural and tourism sightseeing, to technology experiences and advancing innovative business models for the low-altitude economy.

Zhao Wang, EHang’s chief operating officer, said: “In collaboration with our partners, EHang has established operational infrastructure for EH216-S aircraft in cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hefei, Wuxi, Taiyuan and Wenzhou Wencheng. The Luohu UAM Center represents an innovative approach to infrastructure development for the low-altitude economy. It is expected to serve as a cornerstone of EHang’s operations within Shenzhen’s
low-altitude economy.

“Leveraging our first-mover advantage in the eVTOL sector, we will continue working with our partners in Shenzhen to develop and refine the integrated growth of the low-altitude economy and ground economy. Our efforts aim to promote high-quality advancement of the low-altitude economy in Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area, providing a valuable reference for safe and efficient eVTOL operations nationwide and globally.”

The first flight

January 2025 was a busy month for EHang. Just weeks before the Luohu launch, an EH216-S pilotless eVTOL made its debut flight in central Shanghai.

According to the developer, the city served as an excellent backdrop to demonstrate the EH216-S’s capabilities in convenience, safety and eco-friendliness within the operational environment of urban air mobility in metropolises. The firm has also launched regular trial operations of the eVTOL on sightseeing routes by the Huangpu River at Longhua Airport in Shanghai, in preparation for commercial operations in the city.

Longhua Airport is considered the only airport in central Shanghai with apron airspace and is home to the East China General Aviation Service Center of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). As an important base for the high-quality development of Shanghai’s low-altitude economy, Longhua offers ideal conditions for various low-altitude economic activities, including aerial mobility, tourism and sightseeing, emergency rescue and logistics. This flight not only showcased EH216-S’s capabilities for commercial applications in urban sightseeing and travel scenarios, but also laid a solid foundation for the gradual implementation and realisation of regular commercial operations of urban air taxis in the Yangtze River Delta region. 

The EH216-S for this debut flight was manufactured by EHang for Hynfar Aviation, a Shanghai enterprise focusing on eVTOL operations and an eVTOL operation partner of Longhua Airport. EHang, Hynfar Aviation and partner New Margin Eastwood Fund will utilise Longhua Airport as a base for the development of a variety of low-altitude economy eVTOL operational scenarios such as passenger transportation and urban sightseeing in Shanghai and further afield, including cities and regions along the Yangtze River Delta G60 Science and Innovation Corridor (among them nine cities across Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces). This collaboration aims to encourage Chinese cities to explore new models of air taxi transportation

EHang COO Zhao Wang said of the flight: “As the world’s first pilotless passenger-carrying eVTOL that has obtained CAAC’s type certificate, production certificate and standard airworthiness certificate, EH216-S’s successful debut flight in Shanghai has great importance, signifying that large central cities in China are on the verge of entering the era of urban air taxi flight scenarios. With metropolises gradually advancing the development and operations of the low-altitude economy, EHang’s eVTOLs are poised to become a key driver in UAM transformation.”

He added: “Looking ahead, we will join with Hynfar Aviation, which has been deeply rooted in the civil aviation field for many years, and combine the cultural and tourism resources of the New Margin Eastwood Fund in the low-altitude economic sector, to actively promote market-oriented, EH216-S commercial operations in Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta region. Together, we will explore the diversified application scenarios within the low-altitude economy and jointly we will build a smarter and more efficient UAM ecosystem, making air taxi rides a part of consumers’ daily travel routines.”

Bigger ambitions

Shanghai’s plans for a low-altitude economy are even more ambitious than Luohu’s, perhaps understandably, given its significantly greater population and financial clout.

The Action Plan for High-Quality Development of Shanghai Low-Altitude Economy Industry (2024–2027) aims to position Shanghai as a leading hub for innovation, commercial applications and operational services in the low-altitude economy, with the core industry scale expected to exceed RMB50bn (£5.5bn) by 2027, creating an internationally influential ‘City in the Sky’.

The plan specifically mentions the goal of achieving more than 100 low-altitude flight service applications in commercial scenarios such as logistics transportation, emergency rescue, cultural tourism, smart cities and passenger transportation by 2027. It also promotes pilot projects for commercial passenger transport across and between major transportation hubs, such as Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, and Longhua Airport, in addition to five new intra-city stops within Shanghai. The plan also provides clear policy guidance and vast development opportunities for the low-altitude economy’s growth, EHang concluded.

Further reading: A digital infrastructure

EHang has embarked on a comprehensive strategic partnership with China Communications Information and Technology Group (CCIT) to co-develop digital UAM infrastructure and transportation hubs, innovate UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) services and establish a commercial operation model and comprehensive support system for the low-altitude economy, driving innovative development within the sector.

The companies will collaborate on advancing the research and development, planning and construction of digital UAM infrastructure, while also promoting integrated innovations of the low-altitude economy industry. They have committed to combining their respective technological expertise and industrial experience to incorporate digital technologies such as 5G, 6G, satellite communications, sensing and high-precision navigation into the low-altitude aviation industry. These initiatives aim to create an intelligent low-altitude platform that integrates five key networks: air traffic infrastructure network, aerial route network, communications and navigation network, airspace management network, and low-altitude service network.

EHang and CCIT will also work together to support local governments in China in the planning and construction of flight data centres, dedicated communications networks and integrated flight take-off and landing platforms, with EHang providing operational services.

By pooling their resources, EHang and CCIT will jointly create platforms of low-altitude economy for research and innovation, digital industry investment, digitalised joint operations and ecosystem development. Additionally, the partners will work together to drive the global development of advanced air mobility and low-altitude economy industries, contributing to China’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative and the interconnected development of a four-dimensional transportation network covering land, sea, air and digital infrastructure.