Innovation pushing low-altitude aircraft to new heights in China

China's innovative breakthroughs in low-altitude aircraft are driving the country's low-altitude sector to undergo a leapfrog development, profoundly reshaping people's means of travel and experiences in areas such as sightseeing, logistics, and emergency rescue at an unprecedented pace, industry insiders said.

They made the remarks at the three-day 2024 China (Chengdu) International Low-altitude Economic Partnership Conference and the 2024 Chengdu International Low-altitude Equipment and Services Expo, which opened on Thursday in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province.

"China lags behind developed countries in traditional general aviation, but the development of electric aircraft has given the country an opportunity to overtake its competitors in the low-altitude economy," said Guo Liang, CEO and chief scientist of Aerofugia, a subsidiary of Chinese automaker Geely Technology Group.

He said China's world-leading new energy electric vehicle industry has provided solid industrial support for the development of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or eVTOL, as 80 percent of its supply chain overlaps with that of electric cars.

Guo said his company aims to obtain an airworthiness certificate for its self-developed AE200, a five- to six-seat manned tiltrotor eVTOL aircraft, by the end of next year or early in the year 2026, and deliver the first batch of aircraft to its clients for trial commercial operations in the first half of 2026.