Oriented on making people closer

While some other startups in the field of urban air mobility are still only creating visualizations, eHang's EH 216 eVTOL has already been tested and received permission to use a commercial air taxi in its home country, China. Now the company has gone even further by announcing a retail price, according to New Atlas.

So, if you need your own EH 216-S (as it is now known), be prepared to shell out 2.39 million yuan. This is about 332,304 US dollars. The offer will come into force on April 1... no kidding.

The EH 216-S is an eVTOL unmanned aircraft that flies on eight coaxially mounted pairs of propellers (16 propellers in total) and autonomously transports two passengers up to 30 km between charges at a maximum speed of about 130 km/h.

After debuting at CES in 2016, the aircraft received a type certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China last October. In December, it received a standard airworthiness certificate, which led to the first deliveries of eVTOL to corporate customers – these parties will reportedly use the EH 216-S in scenarios such as low-altitude sightseeing and urban tourism. Later that month, EH 216-S completed its first commercial demonstration flights in Guangzhou and Hefei.

Thus, EHang became the world's first certified air carrier using autonomous air vehicles. For now, it will be possible to use an air taxi only in China.

ORIENT news

Photo: eHang