According to Financial Association News on April 26 (reporters Hu Haoqiong and Liu Yue), the recent Shanghai International Auto Show 2025 unveiled eVTOL as a new highlight. "Aircraft at the auto show received a lot of attention, and the public took great interest in our eVTOL products, which also offered a chance for the public to experience the results of low-altitude three-dimensional travel up close," said Zhong Ruihua, brand public relations director at Fengfei Aviation, to Financial Association reporters.

At the auto show, Financial Association reporters observed that, in addition to Fengfei Aviation's 2-ton eVTOL, there were also Xiaopeng Huitian's "Land Aircraft Carrier" and GAC High-tech's GOVY-Aircar. It was learned that these manufacturers' eVTOLs/flying cars are making their debut at the Shanghai Auto Show.

In the current low-altitude economy market, most eVTOL manufacturers' products are still in the certification process. Once the certification is completed for various products, large-scale commercial operations of eVTOLs will begin. Currently, EHang's operational company completed its OC (Operation Qualification Certificate) certification last month, marking the official start of the commercial process for the company's low-altitude manned services and future urban air traffic business.

Among the eVTOLs on display, Xiaopeng Huitian's "Land Aircraft Carrier" is expected to have its factory completed in the third quarter of this year, aiming to obtain model certification (TC) from the Civil Aviation Administration of China in the fourth quarter, with mass production and delivery planned for 2026.

（Xiaopeng Huitian's "Land Aircraft Carrier", provided by the interviewee）

At the same time, Xiaopeng Huitian is developing a fully tilting rotor flying car. In March of this year, Farasis Energy (Gan Zhou) Co., Ltd. (688567.SH) and Eve Energy Co., Ltd. (300014.SZ) both announced that they received notice from Xiaopeng Huitian for targeted development. A relevant person from Xiaopeng Huitian introduced to Financial Association reporters that the new generation flying car has not yet selected a final battery manufacturer, and the batteries procured from these companies are mainly for prototype testing.

In contrast to Xiaopeng Huitian's focus on personal user application scenarios, GAC High-tech's GOVY-Aircar plans to be used for low-altitude tourism, urban short-distance connections, and commuting scenarios.

According to staff at the Guangzhou Automobile exhibition booth at the Shanghai Auto Show, GOVY-Aircar has applied for a Self-Driving Cars TC certificate, applied for at the beginning of this year, and is expected to obtain the certification by the end of this year. The passenger capacity of the certified version will differ from the product displayed on site, as it will accommodate two seats and is expected to be launched in the second half of this year. In the future, the company will also launch a composite wing model, GOVY AirJet, increasing the passenger capacity to 3-4 seats; currently, there is no physical model, and the R&D costs are expected to be higher than those of GOVY-Aircar.

( Guangzhou Automobile High-Domain Flying Car Reporter from Financial Association)

In addition, battery manufacturers Contemporary Amperex Technology (300750.SZ) and Sunwoda Electronic (300207.SZ) booths showcased the 2-ton manned version eVTOL from Peak Flying and the aerospace era's FP-981C shooting star vertical take-off and landing composite wing eVTOL.

( Peak Flying's 2-ton manned version eVTOL Picture provided by the interviewee)

Zhong Ruihua stated that the 2-ton eVTOL cargo version aircraft from Peak Flying has completed TC and PC certifications and will be delivered successively this year, while the manned version is undergoing airworthiness certification, aiming to commence trial operations after obtaining certification in 2026.

Currently, the battery used in the 2-ton manned version eVTOL from Peak Flying has an energy density of 500wh/kg, and other information has not been fully disclosed; it uses aviation-grade power batteries. Additionally, the design of this battery will be tailored to the requirements of the main manufacturers regarding power, energy density, initial power, and more. However, the newly released sodium battery is not suitable for aviation aircraft.” Staff at the Contemporary Amperex Technology booth informed the Financial Association, mentioning that sodium batteries have low energy density, which is a significant shortcoming that aviation aircraft need to address, hence aviation batteries still primarily use high-nickel ternary lithium batteries.

As for whether the current US-China tariff situation affects the production of eVTOLs, several main manufacturers indicated that it has had little to no impact.

An earlier source from Guangzhou Automobile indicated that the production and manufacturing of GOVY-Aircar's components are all developed and produced in-house by Guangzhou Automobile.

The relevant person in charge of XPeng Huitian also stated that the localization rate of its products has reached over 90%. “When products are ‘going abroad’, priority will be given to co-building with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative Concept, as these countries can better achieve bilateral mutual recognition of airworthiness certificates.”