Are flying taxis China’s next transportation breakthrough?
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Are you tired of battling traffic jams or squeezing into crowded subway cars?

Here's some exciting news that could change the way you commute. The certificate issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China or CAAC is the first of its type in the global e-veto industry. With the rapid advancement of e-veto technology, short for electric vertical takeoff and landing, China has taken a bold step by establishing a dedicated department to explore the potential of the low-altitude economy.

Could flying around your city in the air be closer to reality than you think? In this episode, CGTN tech reporter Zhao Chenchen dives into the world of flying taxi technology and examines the economic opportunities this emerging industry holds. It's Friday, January 10th. So Chenchen, you were at the Zhuhai Airshow just a few weeks ago. Did you get a chance to take a ride on an eVTOL during that visit?

I know it all sounds very exciting, isn't it? This whole eVTOL thing. And in fact, yes, I do see a lot of showcase of eVTOLs, all kinds of eVTOLs, but unfortunately they don't offer a

a test flight at the air show. But I do got the chance multiple times actually to be inside any vehicle, you know, just to be inside a cabin. Okay. I've tried multiple, multiple ones actually. I tried one from Zero-G, which is a Hefei-based company

aircraft manufacturer. And also I've also tried Autoflight, Guangzhou based, as well as Yihang. These are some leading manufacturers for flying cars. And does it feel any different from the cars that you drive on the road? Well, flying cars, the emphasis is about flying, right? You're able to travel in the air.

And actually, yeah, I forgot to mention one thing that's debuted at this year's Airshow China, which is Expone's Arrow Hut. It's called Arrow Hut, which is in fact a

a combination of a MPV and an eVTOL. So the eVTOL is hidden inside the trunk of MPV. And when you park at a launching pad, the eVTOL can roll out from the back trunk of the car. And then from that point,

You can take the flying car to the air. So imagine a future that's pretty much like the future of transportation. Wow, I'm hearing a lot of terms. So there's eVTOL as well as MPV. So just very briefly, what does this term MPV stand for?

Yes, MPV stands for multi-purpose vehicles. So usually it refers to a six-seat, sometimes luxurious, most of the time luxurious vehicles for business purposes. And eVTOL is electronic vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.

It's very difficult to talk about this in audio form. So let's start with the drone, taking the drones that we use for taking pictures, spraying pesticides for agriculture or delivering goods and meals.

So if it can deliver goods, why not people, right? So a Navy Dull is just a much bigger version of drones. Okay, a bigger drone. A bigger drone capable of transporting passengers. Hmm.

As the hosting city for the national air show, the city Zhuhai has also been a pioneering city in advancing eVTOLs. And last year, there was the first ever successful pilot flight that connected Zhuhai and Shenzhen across the sea water.

So what does this mean for this technology? Like currently, what are the available transportation methods between these two cities? And with this flying car eVTOL, how much travel time is reduced?

Very good question. Yes. So the pilot flight took place from Shekou in Shenzhen to the Jiuzhou port of Zhuhai. And other traditional transportation methods, including by boat, a boat ticket costs about 120 kuai and it will take about an hour for traveling.

The other method is by the bullet train or high-speed train. But by train, you have to go from north of Shenzhen, Shenzhen North, to Zhuhai Central. And the tickets cost between 117 and 144.5, very specific. Very accurate. Yes, and it takes two hours for the bullet train. Okay. But...

With any veto, you can cut down the travel time from 2.5 hours to 3 hours to 20 minutes. Just 20 minutes. A lot faster. Yeah, so I can imagine that you are flying over across the seawater. So it must be...

a lot faster than the traditional transportation methods. But I think the question will be, with this convenience, do passengers have to pay a lot more for this flying car? Yeah, the tickets are now aimed at 240 yuan. And remember, the travel distance is about 40 kilometers.

And just to give you a comparison, this kind of flying taxi service is also available in the US, in New York. The current available one is from the JFK airport to Manhattan, which is a 22 kilometer distance. So about half the distance between Shenzhen and Zhuhai. Yes, and that costs about $140 to $170. So just to give you a comparison.

That service is offered by Joby Aviation, which is also a leading eVTOL provider in the US, and they are collaborating with Uber Air.

So that is the service we're seeing outside China. Yeah, so 240 yuan is it from Shenzhen to Zhuhai? Yes. And that actually doesn't sound that expensive at all. So following that successful trial pilot flight last year, has there been any update that this transportation, this flying car e-vito might be more accessible to the public?

Right. We definitely want to experience such service in air, right? But still, a lot of things are still in trial version.

But I do have to say that China has made progress a lot faster than other parts of the world. The service that I mentioned in the U.S. is still also a concept at this moment. That's because U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, has not fully approved eVTOLs for widespread commercial use.

But in China, Yihang, the Guangzhou-headquartered flying car company, obtained the world's first type certificate for AC VTOL It was also the world's first publicly listed flying car company when it debuted in Nasdaq in December 2019

And the other company I also mentioned, Autoflight, which is based in Shenzhen, is one of the earliest companies in China to research and manufacture autonomous flying vehicles. And their design features more seats, basically five or more, and they are trying to obtain type certificate by 2026. This is something I just learned from them.

So this type certificate sounds pretty important Is the only document for the eVTOL companies to acquire before their products hit the market

So there are three certificates for the EVTO companies to they have to obtain before putting mass production and also making the transportation method more accessible to the public. First is type third certificate, which approves the aircraft's design. So we basically evaluate the safety. So safety always comes first.

The second one is production certificate. With that, you are allowed to mass produce. And the third one is airworthiness, whether you can actually fly in air, you can deploy them in air. So yeah, these are the most, the three things that comes first. But apart from these, I think regulations for air mobility need to be set up.

So, for example, for ground transportation, you have transportation rules, right? But for air mobility, you also need to have a complete set. And also the process for evaluating and granting these certificates need to be cleared as well, even though China has already issued one. But that's just a first step, right? You need to...

establish the process in a more matured and more reasonable way. So China has made a lot of progress, especially with the establishment of a department dedicated for the development of low altitude economy by the country's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission. And that happened right before the end of 2024. Considering all these aspects,

I think we are very close to have flying taxis as a transportation method. Of course, the construction of infrastructures. For now, taking the example of Shenzhen and Zhuhai, the service is only available between these two ports. And you have to consider the time traveling to or leaving the ports. But imagine if we can have more landing and takeoff pads, launch site,

for example, on top of the building, just like helicopters, that could be more convenient for people to travel. Yeah. And as you said earlier, there are...

many certificates that an e-veto company needs to acquire before their products hit the market. There's the certificate for design, mass production, as well as airworthiness to see if they can take flight. So this does sound like a very emerging business or industry that's taking place in China and perhaps around the world. And a lot of the companies that I heard about

a lot of these names that you mentioned, some from Shenzhen, some from Hangzhou. So are a lot of the eVTOL companies currently kind of concentrated in these two areas in Guangdong and around Shanghai? Definitely, definitely. Guangdong province is heavily concentrated for eVTOL development, pretty much because of the

Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macau, Bay Area, Triangle, right? The market needs creates the demand. But apart from them, CapTime is another one based in Shanghai and ZeroG is based in Anhui province, which is close to Shanghai. Additionally, actually in Sichuan province, in Chengdu, there's also a company Aerofugia Technology, which is under Geely.

a very famous Chinese automaker. So yeah, you will see a variety of companies making flying cars and really a burgeoning low altitude economy sector.

Yeah, like you said earlier, there was the establishment of a department by the country's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, right before the end of 2024. Does that indicate China's dedication to developing the low-altitude economy?

Yes, yes. Just to add up to what you mentioned of this bureau set up in China, it's not only for the development of eVeto companies, it's for the development of low altitude economy, which includes a lot of other services included.

including drones for delivery and emergency medical services and rescues, that is for sure a very, very hands-on application of such transportation method, right? And of course, there is sightseeing services. Additionally, normal people like you and I could try to obtain a pilot license and enjoy the fun of

Being in there, the market for low-altitude economy is predicted by industry reports to reach 2 trillion yuan, which is around 270 billion dollars. And that is by 2040. And also by then, China could have around 100,000 eVTOLs serving as air taxis or personal vehicles.

So imagine the co-development of low-altitude economy and general aviation, more people can enjoy the fun of flying. So at some point in the future, we may not only be passengers of eVTOLs, but there's a chance we could be flying a car. Yes, we could be flying an aircraft. Right.

Driving a car on the road already feels very stressful. I might need to give it a second thought if I'm gonna fly a car in the air. Thank you very much for your time, Chenchen. Thank you. It's a pleasure to join with you. Developing the next generation of transportation goes beyond capital investment. It requires a collective effort to build robust infrastructure and regulatory systems.

The year 2024 marks the launch of China's low-altitude economy, a concept highlighted in the National Government Work Report at the beginning of the year which prompted establishment of a new department to oversee its progress. With regional governments racing to draft regulations and attract investments, daily air travel may become a reality sooner than we imagine.

And that brings us to the end of this episode of Deep Dive. If you enjoyed what you just heard, don't forget to follow us on your podcast platforms. Just search for Deep Dive. You can also leave a comment to let us know what you want to learn about China and beyond. This episode is brought to you by me, Li Wenqi, and my colleagues Zhang Zhang and Qi Zhi. Special thanks to CGTN tech reporter Zhao Chenchen. I'll see you in the next one.