中国的EHang正在全球范围内“加速推进”自主空中出租车

A Chinese manufacturer of autonomous eVTOL air taxis wants to help other nations evolve the technology from evaluation to introduction in as little as four months.

EHang—whose EH216-S earned the world’s first type certificate, production certificate, and standard airworthiness certificate for pilotless, passenger-carrying electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft—on Wednesday launched its “Global Fast Track Program,” naming Sri Lanka as its inaugural member.

The company described the program as a “validation‑driven pathway” that will leverage the certifications it has obtained from the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC), as well as “years” of engagement with other civil aviation authorities. The aim is to “compress timelines from years to months,” EHang said in its announcement.

Daminda Rambukwella, director general and CEO of the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL), clarified that the four-month schedule is a “proposed implementation timeline” that will hinge on the partners satisfying regulatory, technical, operational, and safety requirements.

U.S. officials have similar ambitions to spread American eVTOL technology worldwide.

At the 2025 Paris Air Show, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and then-FAA acting Administrator Chris Rocheleau unveiled a multinational agreement between the FAA and aviation regulators in the U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The goal is to harmonize the regulators’ standards for advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft—including eVTOLs—such that a manufacturer with certification in one country could swiftly validate that approval elsewhere.

In July, the FAA’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) officially began in Maryland and Virginia. The three-year program, which has since spread to other states, is allowing AAM manufacturers to take precertified aircraft out of the sandbox and into real-world airport environments. Data collected from these activities is expected to shape future regulations.

The U.S. even has a National Strategy for AAM that provides a blueprint for commercializing the technology. Duffy in remarks framed its introduction as a competition with China.

“America is going to beat China and lead the way in aviation!” he wrote on X in December.

Duffy has been the most outspoken U.S. official regarding China’s progress on AAM.

“If it doesn’t happen in America, it doesn’t mean it won’t happen. It’ll happen in places like China,” he said last year on the Fox Across America radio show. “And then amazing technology will come from China, and we’ll be using their technology in our vehicles…or their Ubers in the air to move our people.”

The FAA has not yet certified any eVTOL aircraft, which it categorizes as powered lift. Several American manufacturers are routinely test flying passenger-carrying eVTOLs, but none have advanced to type inspection authorization (TIA).

Wisk Aero, which Boeing sold to Archer Aviation in August, is the only manufacturer planning to introduce an autonomous eVTOL before a piloted model. Others plan to incorporate autonomy in the future.

EHang’s Fast Track

EHang’s pilotless, two-seat EH216-S has been conducting “routine internal trial commercial operations” since last year, the company said in its first-quarter 2026 earnings report.

Two of its subsidiaries have CAAC air operator certification and have completed 3,000 missions with zero accidents or safety violations, EHang said. The company said it has built an operating framework that covers ticket pricing, customer service, standard operating procedures, and more.

The manufacturer has not yet advanced to what it described as “public ticketed flight services.” But it said its customers and partners have stood up more than 40 eVTOL operating sites across China. The CAAC earlier this year published pilot training requirements for large, civil, autonomous aircraft, and the company plans to begin standardized training once it is approved.

EHang’s subsidiaries obtained air operator certification in March 2025, nearly 18 months ago. However, the firm believes it can expedite the commercialization process elsewhere.

“By enabling civil aviation authorities to validate an already-certified aircraft rather than start from scratch, the Fast Track Program is expected to turn regulatory exploration into actionable progress effectively,” said Huazhi Hu, founder, chairman, and CEO of EHang.

The program comprises four phases.

First, EHang and the regulator would determine a validation pathway for the aircraft and establish a workflow. Next would be the designation of test sites and deployment of infrastructure, followed by sandbox flights conducted under international aviation safety standards. Finally, the regulator would grant operational approval.

Anura Karunathilaka, who leads Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Ports and Civil Aviation and Ministry of Energy, said Fast Track “offers a structured approach that aligns well with our development priorities.”

EHang and CAASL will jointly plan sandbox flights and operational scenarios in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, “where eVTOL operational services will be established,” the company said. Potential applications include sightseeing trips, shuttle services, and uncrewed maritime cargo logistics.

Hu said the manufacturer is in “active dialogue with civil aviation authorities in several other markets.”

EHang is further developing L and F variants of the EH216 for cargo logistics and emergency response, respectively. The company’s smaller GD 4.0 supports aerial light shows, while the larger VT35, introduced last year, is designed for longer range passenger operations.