eVTOL

By the end of this year, an eVTOL powered by CATL batteries is expected to make its maiden flight, the battery maker's chairman said.

Xpeng Aeroht has secured $150 million in Series B1 funding and launched a Series B2 round. Its last round was in October 2021, when it was valued at over $1 billion pre-investment.

CATL invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Autoflight, the first known CATL investment in an eVTOL maker.

Xpeng Aeroht will build a manufacturing center for flying cars in Guangzhou, which will first be used to produce the flying body of its modular flying car.

Ehang delivered 26 units of EH216-S in the first quarter, bringing the eVTOL's total deliveries to 263.

Autoliv, the world's largest producer of airbags and seatbelts, said its partnership with Xpeng Aeroht is aimed at making low-altitude mobility safer.

The use of eVTOL aircraft can reduce the time it takes to reach the downtown from Pudong International Airport from 60-90 minutes to 10 minutes, Autoflight said.

Ehang completed a passenger-carrying demo flight of the EH216-S in the UAE, and the local debut flights of the EH216-F for high-rise firefighting and the EH216-L for air logistics.

Ehang said it has received a Production Certificate in China for the EH216-S, marking the eVTOL's entry into mass production.

China aims to fully integrate general aviation equipment into all areas of production and life by 2030, creating a market in the scale of RMB trillions.