Chinese AAV manufacturer EHang has announced its strategic partnership with Malaysian company Aerotree to jointly develop urban air mobility (UAM) service in Malaysia.
As a part of the partnership, Aerotree has placed the largest pre-order for 60 passenger-grade electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The order comprises 50 EH216 series eVTOLs, which include the EH216-S1, EH216-L, and EH216-F, as well as another 10 longer-range VT-30 variants.
The EH216 is a short-range two-seater that can reach a top speed of 130 km/h (80.7 mph) while flying at altitudes of up to 9,800 feet (3,000 meters). It can travel for 35 km (22 miles) on a single charge, with its battery capable of fully recharging in two hours.
On the other hand, the VT-30 offers a bigger range of up to 300 km (186 miles), with a battery life of 100 minutes.
At the beginning of the year, the CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China) officially established the airworthiness requirements for the EH216-S aircraft, giving the company the green light for taking its AAV to the next level.
“We are very excited about our strategic partnership with EHang to introduce the world’s leading safe, sustainable, and autonomous aerial vehicles to the Malaysian market,” said Dato’ Halim Bin Othman, Managing Director of Aerotree Group. “Leveraging our full spectrum of capabilities and partnerships that span from MRO to training, we eagerly anticipate using EHang AAVs for Malaysia’s UAM projects and civil aviation.”
“Our comprehensive AAV products and solutions are well suited to a variety of intracity and intercity UAM use cases in Malaysia, such as passenger transportation, aerial sightseeing, aerial firefighting, and aerial logistics. The rising demand and pre-orders for a large number of our passenger-grade AAVs from Japan and Malaysia will unleash the great market potential for EHang in Asia,” said Mr. Huazhi Hu, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of EHang.
In addition to the AAV order, Aerotree will also build a Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) center and a training center for EHang operations in Malaysia.
