Low altitude economy welcomes new opportunities for development

Recently, there have been continuous positive developments in the low altitude economy sector. Many regions have introduced policies to support the development of low altitude economy, such as Beijing's Yizhuang building a "low altitude manufacturing demonstration zone", Sichuan's coordinated promotion of low altitude economy construction, Chengdu's construction of a western low altitude economy center, and Zigong's construction of a national advanced manufacturing base for general aviation. At the same time, capital investment has increased, and the issuance of the first batch of Civil Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Operation Certificate (OC Certificate) has provided relevant enterprises with "clearance documents" from testing to commercial use, promoting the development of low altitude economy into the fast lane.

Local policies support industrial agglomeration

According to incomplete statistics, over 60 cities across the country have introduced policies to support the development of low altitude economy, and many industrial parks and demonstration zones have been established one after another. For example, Hefei, as a national pilot city for low altitude economy, has built a low altitude joint flight service center, an urban air traffic hub port, etc., gathering more than 200 low altitude economy industry chain enterprises, and initially forming an integrated industrial cluster. Guangzhou, with over 4200 low altitude economic enterprises, has formed a first mover advantage in integrated testing and core components, and has been included in the "12218" modern industrial system, building a low altitude three-dimensional travel system.

Beijing Economic Development Zone gathers over 160 aerospace enterprises, covering the entire industry chain, and plans to construct a 2500 acre aerospace block. Collaborative efforts will be made in multiple regions of Sichuan to cultivate more than 10 leading enterprises by 2026, with an industrial scale exceeding 50 billion yuan and the establishment of a complete ecosystem. In addition, the number and registered capital scale of low altitude economy related enterprises in Shenzhen, Beijing, Chengdu and other places are among the top, with obvious advantages in industrial agglomeration.

Capital supports the commercialization process

Low altitude economic investment and financing are booming. Xiaopeng Huitian has obtained a 1.26 billion yuan syndicated loan for the construction of a flying car intelligent manufacturing base, which is currently the largest syndicated loan for flying car production worldwide. In March, there were a total of 18 financing events in the low altitude economy sector, with a financing amount of 1.413 billion yuan, and the financing intensity and quantity have significantly increased.

Commercial acceleration of flying cars and eVTOL

Flying cars, as the core field of low altitude economy, are developing rapidly. Xiaopeng Huitian has cooperated with Hainan to build 40 flight camps, and the delivery of split type flying vehicles is planned for 2026. Over 4000 vehicles have been reserved so far. Gaoyu Technology collaborates with Ruqi Travel to promote the integration of flying cars into the travel service ecosystem. Xiaopeng Motors Chairman He Xiaopeng predicts that the global flying car market will experience significant growth in the next 10 to 20 years.

The "air taxi" eVTOL has also entered the eve of commercialization. Wofei Changkong has partnered with Sichuan Airlines to promote the landing of the "civil aviation+low altitude travel" scenario. Its AE200 tilting rotor 6-seater eVTOL is planned to obtain certification in 2026 and enter mass production in 2027. Yihang Intelligent has obtained the certificate of operation for unmanned manned eVTOL, and its EH216-S model has been regularly serviced in multiple locations and has received pre orders from Indonesia. Fengfei Airlines' large-scale eVTOL commercialization is also accelerating, and it is expected that eVTOL products from multiple host manufacturers will be certified within the next three years.

Infrastructure construction urgently needs to be strengthened

Despite the rapid development of the low altitude economy, the problem of lagging infrastructure construction is prominent. As of the end of 2024, there are only over 400 general aviation airports in China, which cannot meet the demand for new transportation vehicles such as flying cars and eVTOLs. The approval cycle for the construction of general aviation airports is long, and some areas urgently need to build airports and related facilities. The coverage of ground communication base stations is limited, and the radar monitoring technology relied on for low altitude supervision also faces many limitations.

In addition, there is a lack of infrastructure construction standards for low altitude aircraft such as flying cars and eVTOLs, and there is a lack of unified design specifications for takeoff and landing sites. Technical standards have not yet been unified, resulting in restricted cross regional flights. The lag in updating high-precision 3D maps and insufficient coverage of 5G-A/6G high-speed communication networks also constrain the real-time data exchange and autonomous driving capabilities of flying cars. The regulatory responsibilities for low altitude aircraft are not yet clear, and safety issues urgently need to be addressed.

The construction of standard system and safety supervision need to be improved

Shuai Shijin, Vice Dean of the Institute of Aero Engine Research at Tsinghua University, believes that relevant standards should be developed in a hierarchical and step-by-step manner, and a standard system should be established to prioritize the development of standards in blank and urgently needed fields. In terms of standard system construction, hierarchical technical standards are formulated based on the characteristics of different models, electrification and intelligence levels of flying cars. In terms of infrastructure construction, industry standards and group standards can be developed first, and gradually transitioned to national standards. The competent department should take the lead in formulating or improving infrastructure construction guidelines to guide the direction of industrial development.

Yu Dongsheng pointed out that in the process of formulating the standard system, we should learn from foreign experience, absorb domestic consensus, leverage the technological advantages of leading enterprises, and ensure the practicality and operability of the standards. At the same time, security issues should be taken seriously. By deploying monitoring radar systems, adopting multimodal sensor fusion perception systems, and applying the "5G+satellite redundant link" mode and other technical means, the problems of "invisible, unreachable, and uncontrollable" can be solved. In addition, it is necessary to formulate regulations on the definition of liability for low altitude flight accidents to provide guarantees for the development of low altitude economy.