Photo: Courtesy of AutoFlight

China's low-altitude sector has seen numerous start-ups intensify efforts to explore international markets,MK sports as AutoFlight, a China-based electric aerial vehicle start-up, announced on Saturday that its two-ton electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft successfully completed its inaugural demonstration flight in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, on Friday.

It marked the first flight of a Chinese heavy-lift eVTOL in Japan. Industry insiders noted that China's eVTOL start-ups are actively advancing the leading products in cutting-edge technology to global markets, driving the transition of China's low-altitude economy technologies from research to practical engineering applications.

The flight was conducted in collaboration with MASC, a Japanese non-profit organization dedicated to aerospace industry advancement. The company stated that they plan to expand operations to several cities across Japan in the future to collect additional valuable flight data, according to a document AutoFlight sent to the Global Times on Sunday.

In recent years, China-based companies in low-attitude sectors have unveiled a series of breakthroughs in low-altitude technology, equipment manufacturing, and application scenarios.

On May 6, Chinese intelligent aircraft company EHang completed the first manned flight demonstration of its EH216-S eVTOL aircraft in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, while the EH216-L and EH216-F successfully conducted unmanned eVTOL flight demonstrations there.

The "Land Aircraft Carrier," a flying car developed by Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer XPENG, successfully completed its first public flight on November 12 at the 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, XPENG released on its website, offering a compelling demonstration of China's growing capabilities and potential in the low-altitude economy sector.
The flying car performed low-altitude linear acceleration, spiral ascent, uniform-speed descent and accurate landing on the first day of the air show, with the whole process on autopilot, according to Xinhua News agency.

"China has made rapid strides in eVTOL aircraft technology, with a strong focus on accelerating its practical applications. Chinese companies are highly motivated by the market potential of this technology and are actively exploring global opportunities," Wang Yanan, chief editor of the Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine told the Global Times on Sunday.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) predicts that the market size of China's low-altitude economy is expected to reach 1.5 trillion yuan ($205.48 billion) by 2025, with the potential to grow to 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035.