Air taxi maker AutoFlight delivers first eVTOL for customer use

Air taxi developer AutoFlight is moving swiftly toward commercialization of its Prosperity electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, delivering the first model of the battery-operated plane to a company customer in Japan before it’s even certified.

AutoFlight said the hand-over to the unidentified client marked “the world’s inaugural delivery of a civilian ton-class eVTOL aircraft.” Its fellow China-founded rival, EHang, previously began handing off its lighter air taxis to customers in the country after receiving certification from regulators there. AutoFlight’s delivery does appear to be unprecedented in Japan, where Prosperity has yet to obtain commercial authorization.

Nevertheless, AutoFlight said its client has “plans for demonstration eVTOL flights at the 2025 Osaka World Expo,” ahead of introducing wider air taxi services across Japan.

The piloted Prosperity is designed to fly up to four passengers and 350 kilograms of maximum payloads over 250 kilometers on a single charge.

Delivery of the first model of Prosperity is another milestone in what’s already looking like a notable year for the eVTOL developer. In February AutoFlight completed what was hailed as the first inter-city flight ever by a next generation air taxi – making a 20 minute trip over the bay between Shenzhen and Zhuhai that cars usually take three hours to drive around.

And last month, the CarryAll cargo version of the eVTOL received Type Certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China. That, said AutoFlight co-chair Tian Yu, sets the table for a quick transition from certification to mass production, and deliveries of both the freight and air taxi versions of the craft.

“The official delivery of the first Prosperity to a customer signifies a new chapter for AutoFlight as we begin to ship our innovative electric aircraft to global markets,” he said. “Additionally, on the cargo side the receipt of orders for over 200 CarryAll planes already demonstrates a very strong market demand for our products.”