AutoFlight, a China-based eVTOL company, showed a full-scale example of what flying-taxi aircraft could look like as it prepared the Matrix for a demonstration in Kunshan, more than 60 kilometers (about 37 miles) west of the port of Shanghai. In a hangar, staff moved the 5-ton electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle—described as the largest electric aircraft built so far in China, at least in the country—onto a helipad for the test.
The Matrix is designed as a 10-passenger aircraft built around electric propulsion and vertical lift, and AutoFlight’s team staged the demonstration for reporters at the company’s low-altitude flight test facility. The company said the aircraft has a 20-meter wingspan, is 17.1 meters long and 3.3 meters tall, and can travel for about an hour without charging.
During the demonstration, staff started the propellers and conducted checks before the aircraft began rising. The Matrix produced noise during flight, though AutoFlight’s team said it was less noisy than a helicopter. After about 10 minutes, and two laps around the heliport, the aircraft returned and landed smoothly without problems.
Company officials emphasized that the Matrix is still a prototype and that commercial passenger service would require additional steps beyond successful testing. AutoFlight’s senior vice president Steven Yang told reporters, “This is a good question, but this is very tough question for me to answer,” when asked when a flying taxi could become a reality.
Yang said AutoFlight already has a smaller 2-ton passenger eVTOL version, but that it was awaiting needed certifications. He said AutoFlight hopes to get a type certificate from regulators by 2027, a stage that would confirm the aircraft design complies with safety standards, while warning that other approvals would still be required for an operator certificate allowing the aircraft to carry passengers.
China’s broader eVTOL efforts are also moving through a certification pathway. The AP report noted that one eVTOL company, EHANG in Guangdong province, has already been granted a certification to offer commercial passenger services, but that flying-taxi operations have not yet spread widely because companies still need permits and facilities that can support day-to-day use.
As part of what is known as China’s “low-altitude economy,” the report said drones are already used for food delivery, including in Shenzhen. But Gary Ng, a senior economist at Natixis Corporate and Investment Banking, said the country still needs to overcome hurdles including guaranteeing safety, building required infrastructure, and sorting out logistics such as routing. Ng said, “All of this ecosystem surrounding the technology itself is also still underdeveloped at this point,” adding that it would take at least another three years to see something more viable.
Watching the Matrix demonstration, the aircraft’s flight profile appeared to offer a glimpse of how electric aviation could scale toward larger passenger vehicles. Yang said, “We really believe it will happen,” and added that the next steps depend not just on AutoFlight but “the whole ecosystem.”
The Associated Press writer Kanis Leung contributed from Hong Kong.