EHang Holdings, a leading autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) technology platform company, announced the launch of its own autonomous urban air mobility (UAM) services with its strategic partner Greenland Hong Kong Holdings, a listed real estate company.
The trial services include an aerial sightseeing program and aerial media shows, which will be rolled out in the partner's tourism real estate project Forest Lake located in Zhaoqing, a tour destination city in Guangdong, China.
The company intends to work jointly with Greenland Hong Kong over time to offer aerial tourism services using its EH216 AAVs in more cities.
As a specific use case of UAM, aerial sightseeing has strong demand and huge market potential.
In early 2017, the Chinese Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Civil Aviation Administration jointly issued "Suggestions on Promoting the Integrated Development of Transportation and Tourism". This directive supported the development of aerial sightseeing by encouraging key tourist cities and eligible scenic spots to carry out pilot programs for civil aviation tourism as well as to open low-altitude flight routes.
Low-altitude tourism in China could reach 4.2 billion passengers in recent years, leading to a market size of RMB 58.5 billion (USD 8.96 billion), according to forecasts from the China Air Transport Association.
