EHang receives its largest-ever order for passenger air taxis in Asia

EHang, a specialist in passenger-grade drones and urban air mobility (UAM) solutions, says it has received a pre-order for 100 units of its EH216 air taxis from an Indonesian aviation company. This is the largest pre-order EHang has received so far for its passenger-grade drone taxis in Asia.

The order comes from Prestige Aviation, an aviation service provider that also oversees the sale and acquisition of aerial vehicles and private jet leases. Prestige Aviation previously purchased one unit of EH216 from EHang – and the two parties used it to jointly conduct a flight demonstration for aerial sightseeing in Indonesia’s Bali last year.

Bambang Soesatyo, who’s currently serving as the Speaker of Indonesia’s parliament, was present at the contract signing ceremony. Stressing that he was pleased to witness reinforcement of collaboration between Prestige and EHang as well as their joint efforts to promote a broader application of UAM solutions to the Indonesian market, Soesatyo said:

Coming next, we hope to explore more possibilities to facilitate the implementation of UAM in Indonesia, and to seek breakthroughs in infrastructure, airworthiness certification, and other related fields.

Meanwhile, Rudy Salim, executive chairman of Prestige Aviation, explained that the air taxis would be used to support the smart city initiative in Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara. Here’s Salim:

Indonesia is an archipelagic country with more than 17,000 islands within its borders. Therefore, a new transportation mode that can facilitate inter-island mobility will undoubtedly help regional economies to grow exponentially, assisted by its low cost when compared to other conventional land routes. We will join hands with EHang to bring safe, efficient, economical and eco-friendly transport solutions to facilitate inter-island mobility and many other scenarios in Indonesia.

Hu Huazhi, founder, chairman, and CEO of EHang, said his company is now inspired to expand its global footprint even further. “We will continue our in-depth collaboration with Prestige Aviation on UAM in Indonesia. We believe that Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnerships bring favorable policies to international cooperation. We will further accelerate the development of UAM in the Asia Pacific region with the aim to benefit the people with cutting-edge AAV technologies,” Huazhi summed up.

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