Prestige Aviation places largest pre-order for EHang’s EH216 eVTOL aircraft in Asia at the Indonesia International Motor Show
EHang has announced a pre-order for 100 of its EH216 eVTOL aircraft from Prestige Aviation in Indonesia, at an online contract signing ceremony during the Indonesia International Motor Show 2022 (IIMS 2022).
This is the largest pre-order EHang has received so far for its passenger-grade AAVs in Asia. Prestige Aviation previously purchased one EH216 from EHang, and the two parties jointly conducted a debut flight demonstration for aerial sightseeing in Bali, Indonesia in 2021.
Bambang Soesatyo, Chairman of the People’s Consultative Assembly Republic Indonesia, attended the signing ceremony and said: “I am pleased to witness further reinforcement of collaboration between Prestige and EHang as well as their joint efforts to promote a broader application of solutions for UAM in the Indonesian market.
“Coming next, we hope to seek breakthroughs in infrastructure, airworthiness certification, and other related fields.”
Rudy Salim, Executive Chairman of Prestige Aviation, said: “EHang has long been a crucial partner for Prestige Aviation and as a forerunner of Indonesia’s sustainable transportation developments, we hope to address the public’s need for aerial transportation.
“We are ready to support the Indonesian new capital Nusantara’s Smart City initiative with EH216 AAVs as Indonesia is an archipelagic country with more than 17,000 islands within its borders.
“Therefore, a new transportation mode that can facilitate inter-island mobility will undoubtedly help regional economies to grow, assisted by low cost when compared to other conventional land routes.
“We will join hands with EHang to bring safe, efficient, economical and eco-friendly transport solutions to facilitate inter-island mobility and other scenarios in Indonesia.”
Hu Huazhi, Founder, Chairman and CEO of EHang attended the online ceremony, and said: “We sincerely appreciate all the support and recognition of Prestige Aviation and our expanding network of partners, which inspire EHang to further expand our global market.
“We will continue our in-depth collaboration with Prestige Aviation on UAM in Indonesia, and believe that as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership brings favorable policies to international cooperation, we will further accelerate the development of UAM in the region to benefit the people with cutting-edge AAV technologies.”
This order is the culmination of an EH 216 eVTOL aircraft five-minute flight demonstration in November 2021 for aerial sightseeing at the Villa Blackstone Beach in Bali, Indonesia, in cooperation with Prestige Aviation.
Prior to the flight demo, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation of the Republic of Indonesia issued the Special Certificate of Airworthiness for the EHang 216 AAV, enabling it to be Indonesia’s first passenger-grade AAV approved for a public unmanned flight demo.
Earlier this month, eVTOL Insights exclusively revealed that EHang would become the first eVTOL aircraft company to launch urban air mobility operations in Thailand, after it announced a major partnership with Charoen Pokphand Group.