Startup firm EHang plans to obtain all the necessary certificates for its aerial taxi drone called 216 in the coming months, essentially paving the way to it becoming a full-fledged commercial transport.
Should everything go according to plan, the Chinese company will be the first to launch such a service, overtaking several competitors who are still waiting for permissions to begin pilot-assisted aerial tests. They would have to prove that the flights are completely safe first before going autonomous, and would still need to test their drones in autopilot mode for a while before they are allowed to begin production.
EHang, on the contrary, has somehow managed to obtain permissions for all kinds of aerial tests from the governments of China and multiple other countries. As a result, it has already conducted nearly 23,000 flights across 5 major cities in China and 11 other countries.
Thus, in contrast to most competitors waiting to get to the skies in two or three years, EHang expects to begin commercial transportations in 2022. In all likelihood, China will be the first market, although other countries also seem interested in accelerating the process.
The EHang 216 made its first test flight over Beijing in February 2021 (see video). It has 16 electric motors, a 17-kWh traction battery, a top speed of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) and 20 miles (32 kilometers) of range.