The Chinese battery cell manufacturer Gotion High-Tech, a partner of Volkswagen, will supply the Chinese autonomous air taxi manufacturer Ehang with 4680 round cells for its electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle EH216. The two parties are also planning to cooperate on other eVTOL models.
In April 2025, the Chinese electric vertical-take-off-and-landing aircraft (eVOTL) manufacturer Ehang announced that it had received all the necessary approvals for its autonomous aircraft, the EH216-S, to commence commercial flight operations. This made Ehang the world’s first eVTOL company to receive a full set of regulatory certifications, despite competition from around the globe for piloted eVTOLs, Ehang did this with a fully autonomous, passenger-carrying eVTOL.
The company has now announced its intention to equip the eVTOLs of the EH216 series with new batteries supplied by Gotion High-Tech. The batteries are based on 4680 round cells and should enable a greater flight range and higher power output. The two Chinese companies state that these efforts will help accelerate the commercialisation of urban air mobility (UAM) and low-altitude logistics networks. The two companies see Gotion’s expertise in standardised, platform-based battery systems as a key enabler of EHang’s long-term competitiveness in the global market.
Both sides had already signed a framework agreement in 2023, and more recently, a binding strategic partnership to improve the EH216 propulsion system. The battery is said to be a tailor-made battery system solution that will “increase the operating efficiency of the EH216 series in various application scenarios and support commercialisation”. The companies also want to cooperate on future eVTOL models from Ehang.
“Gotion’s advanced 46-series cylindrical battery cell technology will unlock higher performance boundaries for the EH216 series,” confirms Feng Shuai, Ehang’s senior vice president. The model currently achieves a maximum flight speed of 130 kilometres per hour and a maximum flight duration of 25 minutes, with a maximum take-off weight of 650 kg.
The autonomous aircraft completed its first demo flight with its autonomous electric aircraft in downtown Shanghai this year. Ehang said the maiden flight laid a solid foundation for the gradual introduction and realisation of regular commercial operation of autonomous urban air taxis in the Yangtze River Delta region around Shanghai as part of China’s ‘low altitude economy’. Commercial passenger flights are planned for routes over and between major transport hubs such as Hongqiao International Airport, Pudong International Airport and Longhua Airport, as well as five new inner-city stops in Shanghai. In March, Ehang announced that it is planning to build an eVTOL factory with the automotive group JAC.
While current geopolitical conflicts have recently highlighted the use of drones in warfare, China is forging ahead with the use of electric drones in emergency services, with, for example, Ehang’s firefighting drones, as well as in logistics, as part of the coordinated low-altitude economy. This approach is not only about the technology involved, but also the complicated legislative, economic and air safety frameworks for this new sector of electric mobility in populated areas.
“By leveraging cutting-edge battery technologies, the partnership aims to accelerate the advancement of a safe, intelligent, and sustainable low-altitude transportation ecosystem and contribute to the high-quality development of the low-altitude economy,” states the company.
Gotion High Tech is a partner of the German carmaking giant Volkswagen. The Chinese battery maker recently made investment decisions to invest a total of 2.5 billion euros into planned factories in Morocco and Slovakia.
cnevpost.com, ehang.com
