A passenger-carrying pilotless aircraft got production certificate Sunday in China, the first production license in global eVTOL industry. The EH216-S passenger-carrying pilotless electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft obtained Production Certificate issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on April 7, which is the world's first Production Certificate granted in the global eVTOL industry. After the obtaining of the Type Certificate and the Standard Airworthiness Certificate for the EH216-S, the Production Certificate is also a significant leap towards mass production for the eVTOL aircraft and commercial operations. The EH216-S is developed by EHang Holdings Limited, a leading Urban Air Mobility technology platform company. The Production Certificate Granting Ceremony was held in the Guangzhou Development District / Huangpu District. The Production Certificate is a critical certificate issued by the national aviation authority, the CAAC, to the aircraft manufacturer. EHang has established a mass production quality management system that meets the CAAC's airworthiness regulatory requirements, and the company has been authorized for continued mass production. China is investing heavily in the low-altitude economy where urban air mobility and pilotless eVTOLs will play an important role. The low-altitude economy is an economic concept that relies on low-altitude airspace, with the general aviation sector playing a dominant role. It involves economic sectors such as low-altitude flights, air tourism, passenger transportation, general aviation services, scientific research, and education. The size of China's low-altitude economy exceeded 500 billion yuan (69.15 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023, up by 33.8 percent year on year, according to a report by CCID consulting. In the Guangzhou Development District / Huangpu District, there are 50 low-altitude industrial chain enterprises, covering R&D, design and raw materials, manufacturing and assembling, application and service, with an annual output value of about 13 billion yuan. In 2024, the region also launched the first batch of 10 logistics low-altitude lines and the city's first urban medical low-altitude distribution express line. According to the Development and Reform Bureau of Guangzhou Development District, the district will promote the application of eVTOL with intelligent networking automotive technology. The district will also promote the application of unmanned aerial vehicles in fields such as flight, cultural performances, agriculture and rural areas, intelligent transportation, urban management, law enforcement, land mapping, emergency rescue, forest fire prevention, positioning services, and disaster monitoring. Reporter丨NinaEditor丨Nan, Will, JamesPhotos provided to GDToday