China-based AAV technology platform EHang has received a pre-order for 100 units of EH216 AAVs from Prestige Aviation, an Indonesian aviation company and a subsidiary of Prestige Corp. It is the largest pre-order EHang has received so far for its passenger-grade AAVs in Asia. Prestige Aviation previously purchased one unit of EH216 from EHang, with which the two companies conducted a five minute, autonomous flight demonstration in Bali in November 2021 after it was issued with a Special Certificate of Airworthiness by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation of the Republic of Indonesia.

Bambang Soesatyo, chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly Republic Indonesia, attended the 100 unit signing ceremony at IIMS 2022 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 to urban air mobility to the Indonesian market. Coming next, we hope to explore more possibilities to facilitate the implementation of UAM in Indonesia and to seek breakthroughs in infrastructure, airworthiness certification and other related fields.”

Prestige Aviation executive chairman Rudy Salim adds: “EHang has long been a crucial partner to Prestige Aviation. As a forerunner of Indonesia's sustainable transportation, we hope that we can address the Indonesian public's need for aerial transportation and therefore we are ready to support the new Indonesian capital Nusantara's Smart City initiative with EH216 AAVs.

"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 exponentially, assisted by its 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 many other scenarios in Indonesia.”

EHang founder, chairman and CEO Hu Huazhi comments: “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. We believe that, as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership brings favourable policies to international cooperation, we will further accelerate the development of UAM in Asia Pacific region in order to bring the benefit of cutting-edge AAV technologies to its people.”