EHang awarded production certificate by Chinese regulator
EHang has obtained the production certificate for its EH216-S passenger-carrying pilotless eVTOL aircraft issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
The production certificate (PC) follows the awarding of a type certificate and standard airworthiness certificate over the past six months, and is another step forward towards commercial production and operation of the aircraft.
Securing this a PC indicates that EHang has established a mass production quality management system that meets the CAAC’s airworthiness regulatory requirements. It is also a robust assurance for the product quality produced by EHang, encompassing areas like raw materials, supplier management, production organisation, quality control and after-sales repair and maintenance.
“In the past six months, EHang’s EH216-S has secured three groundbreaking achievements in airworthiness certification: the world’s first TC, PC and standard AC for the passenger-carrying UAV,” said Heyong Lin, director of the Airworthiness Division of the Central-South Regional Administration of the CAAC.
“EHang epitomises a pioneering enterprise of new business model in the Central and Southern region, representing new quality productive forces. The Central and Southern Regional Administration of the CAAC is dedicated to offering steadfast support to EHang, bolstering the high-quality development of the low-altitude economy.”
During the PC certification process, the review team of the Central-South Regional Administration conducted a comprehensive document review and on-site verification and validation from multiple perspectives of quality, production, testing and after-sales, based upon the Regulations on Certification of Civil Aviation Products and Parts (CCAR-21-R4), and the Production Approval and Supervision Procedures (AP-21-AA-2023-31).
Huazhi Hu, founder, chairman and CEO of EHang, added: “The issuance of the PC is pivotal for the EH216-S as it opens the door to mass production, and a crucial step for our advancement towards commercial operations. As of today, the EH216-S has secured the TC, PC, and Standard AC from the CAAC. All the notable accomplishments relied on the collaboration and tireless efforts of the CAAC’s expert team and EHang’s team, and reflected our collective innovation, wisdom and expertise in aircraft design, manufacturing, quality management and other fields.
“With the PC as the starting point, we are poised to gradually expand production and delivery to meet escalating market demands.”
