Ehang Advances Testing Efforts in US, Dubai, and Australia

A PR representative from the company [Ehang] told the Global Times on Sunday that they are pushing test flight cooperation projects for its Ehang 184 Autonomous Aerial Vehicle with a number of governments, including the US, Dubai and Australia.

The fast rise of Chinese-made drones in overseas market is due largely to their cost-effective nature, according to experts.

Ke Yubao, executive secretary general of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of China, stated on Sunday that “Chinese commercial drones are much cheaper than locally made drones in those countries, but they offer very good quality, mainly due to low manufacturing costs in China.”

Military drone exports from China are also increasing, as Ke. In general, the saturation of manufacturing skill in the Chinese market is allowing for greater numbers of exports of both product and testing plan – in this case a Chinese company attempting to outsource their flight testing to traditionally more strict regulatory agencies like the FAA. Australia’s Aviation regulatory agency – the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is also a traditionally firm agency in terms of safety and process standards.

Why it’s important: A Chinese Air Taxi manufacturer is seeking out Dubai, Australia and the US for its flight testing and certification efforts in lieu of pursuing domestic certification in China. Most likely, this move is to improve trust in a Chinese-designed and built air taxi system by natively certifying it within specific countries that are also slated to be pilot locations for the UberAIR initiative, slated to launch in 2023.

Learn more about Ehang’s Air Taxi