New Autonomous Air Taxi Trial in Thailand

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Electrical air taxis aren’t going to take over transportation. In my humble opinion, our skies aren’t going to be stuffed with small plane that seem like big bugs. We gained’t have swarms of plane risking collision and devastating crashes into buildings. Nevertheless, I do consider that electrical air taxis will serve some functions and be extra frequent than gas-powered helicopters. The query many have is who will win on this new business? Possibly EHang?

EHang is an organization we’ve coated many instances over the previous 9 years. About one yr in the past, its EH216-S plane turned the primary autonomous electrical plane on this planet to be permitted for industrial flight. Now, in the end, it has carried out its first pilot-free check flights, in Bangkok, Thailand. The corporate has extra check flights deliberate for the islands of Phuket and Koh Samui in 2025.

“This demo flight marks important progress in integrating city air mobility (UAM) options into Thailand’s aviation business,” stated Suttipong Kongpool, Director, CAAT. “EHang’s EH216-S is presently the world’s solely eVTOL with airworthiness certificates, and we stay up for its industrial flight operations in sure areas of Thailand subsequent yr, which can function a major contribution to Thailand’s UAM roadmap growth plan.”

Thailand is clearly attempting to guide with its creation of a next-gen low-altitude airspace and air mobility market. It’s not the primary nation that will have come to thoughts for me, however apparently somebody within the nation is worked up about autonomous electrical air taxis.

“The debut passenger flight of our EH216-S pilotless eVTOL in Thailand is a key milestone in EHang’s ongoing worldwide growth and that could be a robust enhance in selling the transformation of world superior city air mobility,” stated Conor Yang, CFO of EHang. “We intention to use our pilotless eVTOL merchandise and options within the Southeast Asian market. Sooner or later, with the robust help of the CAAT, we are going to cooperate with our native companions to formulate a mannequin for normal UAM operations in Thailand, contributing to the event of the city air mobility market in Southeast Asia and worldwide.”

Apparently, EHang simply had a few different large bulletins previously week. For one, it introduced $22 million in new investments, from Enpower, “a strategic institutional investor from the Center East,” and Zhuhai Enpower Electrical, “a Chinese language main new vitality car energy techniques supplier.” Secondly, EHang introduced a “breakthrough” in solid-state battery tech in partnership with the Low-Altitude Financial system Battery Analysis Institute of the Hefei Worldwide Superior Know-how Utility Promotion Middle and the corporate Shenzhen Inx Vitality Know-how. You’ll be able to learn extra about each items of stories right here.

Is EHang going to grow to be the primary firm creating wealth on electrical air taxis? Moreover, is it going to be a distinct segment market or is it going to grow to be a $1 trillion market as Morgan Stanley expects? Is Thailand going to be the primary nation with industrial autonomous electrical air taxi flights? Bookmark this web page and we’ll see when we have to return to it. Unquestionably, we’ll be overlaying Ehang once more — in all probability ahead of later.