EHang to Expand Production Facilities in Yunfu City

Guangzhou based EHang announced in late July their intent to expand their autonomous aerial vehicle (“AAV”) production facilities with the construction of a new facility in Yunfu city in Guangdong, China. The planned initial annual capacity of 600 units matches the roughly US$6 million investment that was supported by the local government in the facility. According to EHang, the Yunfu facility is “aimed to be established as an industry-leading AAV production center, including an R&D facility for air mobility solutions and a training center for operations and technical talents.”

Donghong Shi, Deputy Mayor of Yunfu, attended the launch ceremony and commented that the Yunfu city government “welcomes and fully supports” EHang establishing their new production facility for the manufacture of AAV products. The Deputy Mayor also commented that the expansion is expected to further strengthen the local high tech communities and serve a a job source for hundreds of new positions in the technology industry.

EHang Founder, Chairman and CEO, Huazhi Hu said, “The increasing market demands and commercialization of AAVs in China are driving us to expand our production and upgrade our manufacturing capabilities. The EHang Yunfu facility serves as an expansion of our existing facility and will support the growth of our air mobility business in China.”

Why it’s important: EHang’s expansion to Yunfu will allow for increased production rates and the ability to meet growing demands of on-demand transportation, logistics, and emergency response needs. No other AAV company has formally disclosed their intent or current ability to produce 600 units per year. With this new facility and the accompanying capacity to produce 50 units per month, EHang has taken a large stride forward to establish the manufacturing infrastructure commensurate of large scale commercial implementation of aerial mobility aircraft. This infrastructure is a key component of large scale mobility systems, as most economic studies of aerial mobility assume that commercial viability is predicated upon widespread implementation to reduce costs.

Related: read more about EHang’s Aerial Mobility Firefighting system here.

Source // EHang Press Release