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EHang launches aerial tourism services with strategic partner Greenland Hong Kong
EHang Holdings Limited, the world's 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 Limited (SEHK: 00337) (“Greenland Hong Kong”), an HKEX-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 popular 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.
The collaboration will start with a flight base in Forest Lake first, independently run by EHang, to offer aerial sightseeing services to passengers. Forest Lake is located close to the new Zhaoqing-Pearl River Delta-Hub Airport, which is under construction. The area offers abundant tourism attractions, including 7 natural lakes and wetlands covering 3 million square meters. Going forward, the two parties will work together to commercialize EHang AAV technologies in various use cases including aerial sightseeing.
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 RMB58.5 billion, according to forecasts from the China Air Transport Association.
Edward Xu, Chief Strategy Officer of EHang said, "We are excited to partner with Greenland Hong Kong to launch trial operations of the EH216 and bring our safe, green and comfortable UAM services to local residents. As an AAV technology platform company and a UAM operator, we are steadily rolling out global trial operations and will further work with our partners to build more UAM networks.”
The Company sees various advantages of its EH216 AAVs to conventional single-propeller helicopters, such as higher safety level, lower noise level, lower costs, and zero emissions. Powered by fossil fuel, helicopters discharge significant amounts of green-house gases and have high failure risks. Yet they are more expensive to operate with pilots. Given the key advantages, EHang believes its EH216 AAVs have the potential to become a new travel vehicle for low-altitude aerial sightseeing.