As electric cars are starting to become mainstream, some countries are already racing towards launching “flying cars” into the air. In China’s case, it aims to have its Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) infrastructure ready by 2028, in order to make air transportation more accessible and versatile. One of the first aircraft manufacturers to tap into this “low-altitude economy” will be Chengdu’s Aerofugia, which received airworthiness approval for its AE200 X01 plane earlier this year.

The AE200 X01 is a manned eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) demonstrator aircraft, and while it resembles a hybrid between a small private jet and a helicopter, it is powered by eight propellers — four of which can tilt for forward motion. This machine has a wingspan of 14.5 meters, a length of 9 meters and a height of 4.6 meters, so it easily dwarfed the other exhibits at BEYOND Expo 2024. It can be configured with seats for the pilot and up to four passengers, or you can just keep the pilot’s seat to maximize cargo space.

According to Aerofugia CEO and Chief Scientist, Dr. Burt Guo, the AE200 will make low-altitude flights relatively affordable — around half or even just 30% of what you’d pay for a helicopter ride. As an example, Aerofugia’s strategic partner, CITIC Helicopter, recently opened a Shenzhen-to-Zhuhai route (around 80 km) which takes 15 to 20 minutes. This costs 999 RMB which, by Guo’s standard, is pricey, and he believes that an air taxi service powered by an AE200 may bring this down to as low as 300 RMB.

Guo explained that this is possible because his eVTOL aircraft shares as much as 18% of the supply chain with an electric car, and as much as 13% with conventional helicopters. The very first batch of mass-produced AE200 aircrafts will cost around 3 million USD per unit, but depending on how the electric vehicle supply chain evolves, Guo believes he may be able to reduce the cost down to just 1 million USD, which will apparently be a sweet spot for low-altitude flight operators.

What’s more, since Aerofugia is a subsidiary of electric car giant, Geely, it’s able to leverage battery tech from another division, Zeekr. The AE200 has a flight range of 200 to 300 km on a single charge, and using Zeekr’s 800V architecture, the aircraft’s battery can reach an 80% charge in merely 11.5 minutes — plenty of time for a toilet break, said Guo.

In addition to cost advantages, the AE200 is also quieter than a helicopter, which is good news to both the passengers and the public down below. The exec added that his aircraft is safer as well, thanks to the built-in redundancies.

While local competitor EHang is taking the autonomous aerial vehicle approach, Aerofugia’s first electric aircraft that will need to be operated by a human pilot. That said, the AE200 is designed with SVO1 (simplified vehicle operations level 1) in mind, meaning that it’ll be very straightforward for existing fixed-wing or helicopter pilots. In other words, existing aviation training and regulations for fixed-wing and helicopter pilots would suffice for the AE200 at launch.

Guo added that with an SVO2 design, potential pilots will just need to take two weeks of training. There will also be a SVO3 version, which literally anyone will be able to operate, though the presence of a safety officer may be required. Aerofugia is already working with the Civil Aviation Flight University of China on coming up with a training course and licensing requirements for future end users.

Unsurprisingly, Aerofugia sees China as its biggest individual market, but it also has its eyes set on the Middle East as well as other Belt and Road countries. Until then, the startup will have to make a strong case in its home country first, but it probably won’t be long before more of these futuristic flying cars take off.

Banner image: Dr. Burt Guo in front of the AE200 X01. All images by Richard Lai.