Flying Into a Smarter Future
During the 2025 Spring Festival Gala broadcast on 28 January, the V2000CG CarryAll, a cutting-edge 2-tonne electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developed by AutoFlight, took off against the dazzling nightscape of Chongqing in southwest China. The aircraft joined singers and dancers in a mesmerising performance, adding a touch of futurism to the traditional festivity.
Soon, such visionary moments will step out of the television and become part of the real lives of ordinary people. On 24 December 2024, the Civil Aviation Administration of China granted this unmanned cargo aircraft a production certificate, making it the world’s first 2-tonne eVTOL aircraft to receive this certification.
This milestone paves the way for mass production and large-scale commercial deployment, marking a decisive leap forward in China’s efforts to industrialise unmanned cargo aircraft within the 2-tonne eVTOL category.
Prominent products
In recent years, the rapid development of multi-rotor drones and eVTOL aircrafts has demonstrated significant potential for urban air transportation. Their wide-ranging applications in various sectors, including logistics, tourism, agriculture, health care, emergency rescue, and public safety, have attracted substantial investment and research efforts. This emerging industry is poised to drive progress and innovation in smart urban governance and mobility solutions.
Drones, especially eVTOLs, are emerging as a prominent player in the creation of a three-dimensional urban transportation network. This network promises to dramatically reshape urban life, offering tremendous convenience to residents, alleviating pressure on ground traffic in bustling cities, and providing faster and more efficient logistics services.
In the event of natural disasters such as earthquakes or floods, eVTOLs can swiftly respond, reach affected areas, deliver rescue supplies, and transport critically injured individuals. They can navigate challenging terrain, racing against time to save lives. In logistics, eVTOLs enable rapid and precise “last-mile” deliveries, overcoming obstacles like delivering medical supplies to remote mountain areas or transporting fresh produce into urban markets. In tourism, eVTOLs offer passengers the chance to enjoy novel low-altitude sightseeing experiences, providing unique views of city landmarks and natural landscapes.
The use of eVTOLs for “point-to-point” transportation of people and goods represents a pivotal component of future air mobility. This innovative approach will not only streamline transportation within cities, but also facilitate the connection of major urban centres with surrounding rural areas. As a result, these systems will offer a practical solution for regional integration, helping to bridge the gap between urban and rural development and fostering more balanced, sustainable growth.
New shipping solutions
The advent of low-altitude logistics is revolutionising the way we think about delivery services, both within cities and between urban and rural areas. This innovative approach encompasses a wide range of applications, from urban food delivery and express transportation between cities and rural regions to the urgent delivery of emergency supplies. In urban settings, drone logistics services are particularly transformative, offering high-speed, responsive delivery solutions. For instance, drones can swiftly transport food samples for testing or water samples for quality analysis, significantly enhancing efficiency and reducing turnaround times.
One of the most promising applications of drone logistics is in the medical setting. Drones are being utilised to transport blood, medical supplies, and even vaccines between health care facilities, creating a network that links smaller, local medical units with larger, more specialised institutions. This has led to faster processing of medical tests, shorter diagnostic cycles, and ultimately, better health care services for patients, who can now access high-quality care closer to home. In emergency situations, drones can also deliver critical supplies and establish aerial emergency response lines, ensuring that life-saving resources reach their destinations in record time.
Since 2020, the Second People’s Hospital of Yuhang District in Hangzhou has been building a drone-based system for transporting medical samples. Seven transport routes have been launched, enabling the instant exchange and delivery of medical supplies within the region. This has promoted the sharing of medical resources, allowing residents to enjoy convenient and efficient high-quality health care services at local community medical stations.
New travel choices
In addition to cargo, passenger transport is also a promising field for the use of drones.
EHang, a leading developer of passenger eVTOLs founded by Hu Huazhi in 2014, became the world’s first eVTOL company to go public, listing on Nasdaq in 2019. It focuses on the research and development of unmanned aerial vehicle systems and solutions, with both one-seater and two-seater models. Their narrow size enables them to take off from and land in tight spaces. In 2019, Hu received the Technology Innovation Award from the US-based Living Legends of Aviation for his contribution to urban air mobility, becoming the first Chinese recipient of the award.
According to He Tianxing, vice president of EHang, compared with traditional aircraft, the eVTOL, which is intelligent and integrates many technologies, has higher safety and lower operation, maintenance, and service costs. These advantages make it well-suited for multiple scenarios, such as emergency rescue and transportation in urban low-altitude airspace, making it a powerful industrial driving force.
EHang is not the only player dedicated to this field. On 27 February 2024, China’s first intercity electric air taxi trial flight was successfully conducted by AutoFlight’s Prosperity eVTOL. The flight simulated a travel scenario between Shekou Ferry Port in Shenzhen and Jiuzhou Ferry Port in Zhuhai, taking 20 minutes to cover approximately 55 km over the Pearl River Delta. By contrast, traditional ground transportation between Shenzhen and Zhuhai typically takes three hours or longer. This milestone paves the way for AutoFlight’s ambitious plan to establish the world’s first operational intercity air mobility route, revolutionising regional connectivity with cutting-edge eVTOL technology.
Headquartered in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, Aerofugia is another strong player in this field. The company envisions a future where flying cars play a pivotal role in the development of the Bashu Cultural Tourism Corridor, a key tourism initiative in Sichuan Province and Chongqing. Fei Lan, CFO of Aerofugia, highlighted that these vehicles will cater to a broad audience, with applications ranging from intercity commuting to tourism. For instance, many popular tourist destinations along the Bashu Cultural Tourism Corridor are within 200 km from each other. eVTOLs will allow residents and tourists to travel seamlessly between these locations, significantly reducing travel time and enhancing the overall travel experience.
With continuous technological advancements and policy support, eVTOLs are expected to achieve large-scale commercial operation in the coming years, ushering in a revolutionary transformation for future transportation. This emerging sector is gaining significant momentum, attracting major players from diverse industries such as aviation, automotive, and technology to join forces in driving development, paving the way for a new era of urban and regional mobility.
