Electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, which are seen as a future mode of urban transportation, have come under the spotlight of the ongoing 2023 Aero Asia show in Zhuhai City of south China's Guangdong Province.

The 2023 Aero Asia show, which runs from Thursday to Sunday, is co-organized by the Zhuhai Airshow Company and AERO Friedrichshafen of Germany.
Using electric power to hover, take off, and land vertically, the unmanned aircraft has seen substantial growth in production in China, particularly led by companies such as EHang and AutoFlight.
"EHang is going with the trend of urban transportation. Traditional transportation is one-dimensional. This new mode of air mobility is green, driven by pure electricity, while vertical takeoff and landing can ensure low costs for resource and facility construction. In a world of multi-dimensional transportation, our aircraft can operate efficiently in low-altitude channels. This will greatly improve the efficiency of people's transportation options within or between cities," said Zhang Hong, vice president of the EHang, in an interview with China Global Television Network on Saturday.
Many of these aircraft are defined as being autonomous - or self-flying - but that could raise safety concerns among some prospective passengers.
EVTOL manufacturers, however, insist that safety is their top priority, expressing confidence in the full commercialization of their aerial vehicles in the future.
"There's also distributed electric propulsion in the aircraft. And we have safety redundancy designs. In all the control services, all the control parts, we have more than one or two redundancies already designed. So, through this redundancy, it can make the level of this eVTOL aircraft close to the safety level of a commercial airliner," said Xie Jia, senior vice president of the AutoFlight.
Apart from safety, protecting the environment is another vital priority for these companies, as they say they have the responsibility of reducing the aviation industry's carbon footprint.
"From one perspective, when your aircraft are operating in large quantities, each one can reduce its corresponding impact on the environment through means of electrification and green energy. Aside from a convenient way of life and travel, the concept of green and environmental protection is important. We're pursuing technical progressiveness while maintaining and going green," said Zhang.
As the populations of cities and urban areas continue to grow, eVTOL manufacturers don't look to replace traditional forms of transport, but instead, to complement them.
They believe the reality of flying taxis that people have long dreamed about is already on the horizon.
The show covers a total exhibition area of about 40,000 square meters and has brought together more than 250 aviation and UAV industry chain companies from nearly 20 countries and regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Singapore.